Policy Center

More Abuse in Youth Prisons

In the two most recent blogs, Dan Macallair called attention to the continued abuse being reported by the news media.  He first noted reports dating back to the 19th century in the San Francisco Industrial School, noting that this was an

Abuse in the LA County Juvenile Justice System

In my previous blog I wrote about the endemic nature of abuse in juvenile institutions. No sooner had I written that blog than the following article appeared in the Los Angeles Times regarding the beating and molestation of youths under the custody of the Los Angeles Probation Department.

Abuse in Youth Correctional Institutions

One of the most common examples of widespread abuse in American juvenile correctional institutions is the callous and malicious treatment often employed by institutional staff.  Institutional abuse can mean many things, but usually refers to the physical or emotional cruelty inflicted on youth by staff. This pernicious reality has been constant throughout American history

Three judges and the California prison system

The recent decision by the three judge panel in the Coleman/Plata case should be applauded as a short but positive step forward in forcing some degree of sanity upon the broken California prison system.  Unfortunately, the fact that a panel of Federal judges was forced to step in and force the state to make long overdue policy decisions is simply another poignant reminder of ou

Category: Public Policy

Chicago School Sociology is Alive and Well at the LA Times

As every criminology student learns, the “Chicago School” brought us a tradition of research on a variety of topics guided largely by a methodology that looks at patterns of crime as they are related to social ecology.  More specifically, this approach looks at how differ
Category: Public Policy

Media Distortions of Youth Crime

I could not help but notice the first of a series of articles appearing in the Cape Cod Times shortly after I arrived for the holidays.  The title itself (“Younger and twice as violent”) conveys a message to the reader that is not uncommon in this day of media hype and distortion.  The message se

Children of war

I was simply going through my usual morning routine, scanning various media outlets on the Internet, when I checked Bob Herbert’s latest column in the New York Times.  I suppose it was

Category: Public Policy

War on Drugs Update

It’s time for another one of my end of the year drug war updates.  I haven’t done this in a while, so it is overdue. 

Category: Drug Policy

Life for kids: a follow-up

My previous blog concerned the current Supreme Court case about juveniles serving life without the possibi

Life sentences for kids?

The U.S.