Blog Dec 13, 2008
Abolish the Office of National Drug Control Policy
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy was established in the early 1980s, funded in 1986, and issued its first National Drug Control Strategy in 1987. In the middle of a massive crack-cocaine and heroin epidemic generating rising overdose deaths and dealer violence, the Strategy prioritized chasing around casual users, mostly of marijuana, on the grounds that moderate drug users set a bad “moral… example.” In the two decades during which the ONDCP and its “drug czar” have…
Blog Nov 29, 2008
Obama’s crime policy — no “change” yet
Think anew, exhorted Barack Obama. “The old ways simply can’t meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.” That’s been a campaign theme of the president-elect’s repeated, welcome calls for innovation on foreign policy, budget reform, and energy and an end to Washington’s stifling “groupthink.” But does Obama propose to extend this refreshing imperative to evolve new thinking America’s century of disastrously failed policies on crime, violence, drug abuse, and related social ills? After all,…
In criminal justice debate and policy, it is important to keep up with often startling realities – and California’s contain plenty of surprises. Consider three statements often made about adult-court prosecutions of juveniles: 1. The number of juveniles tried in adult court is increasing. False. Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) reports show the number and percentage of juvenile inmates in state facilities sentenced by adult criminal courts (as opposed to juvenile courts) has plummeted ‚…
Blog Nov 14, 2008
Time to Close the old California Youth Authority
The recent news from Sacramento that the state is confronting another round of midyear budget cuts that could amount to a stunning 7 billion dollars provides further reason to close the old California Youth Authority (CYA). Closing the CYA (now the Division of Juvenile Facilities) would save the state nearly $500 million and bring an end to a sad chapter in the history of California’s juvenile justice system. The current California youth corrections system is built on a 19th century training…
The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and the Pacific Juvenile Defender Association staged their yearly juvenile justice roundtable on Friday, November 7. The conference was well attended by juvenile public defenders and defense counsel from around California. I was asked to speak on the topic of presenting incarceration alternatives at disposition hearings. The importance of defense attorneys providing options to juvenile court judges at disposition hearings cannot be overstated. I…
Blog Nov 7, 2008
More Election Reflections
While the loss of California’s Proposition 5 was a huge disappointment to the prison reformers, the sound rejection of Proposition 6 by California voters provides some consolation. Proposition 6 represented a billion dollar raid on the state treasury by Sacramento lobbyist for the benefit of their law enforcement and prison interest group clients. Because the initiative was intended to increase the jail and prison population, the campaign was bankrolled by private prison companies, bail…
Blog Nov 5, 2008
Election Reflections
Last night’s elections should give us all cause for hope that the United States is moving into a post conservative era that will usher in a new wave of social policy. However, the defeat of California’s Proposition 5 should be a reminder of the challenges ahead in shaping a more humane and rational criminal justice system. Proposition 5 offered an opportunity to bypass the prison industrial complex interest groups who exert a stranglehold on reform legislation at the state capital.…
Blog Nov 3, 2008
Vote Yes on Proposition 5
On Election Day, California voters will have the opportunity to bring permanent change to its morally and financially bankrupt criminal justice system by voting for Proposition 5 — the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA). Prop 5 circumvents the special interests dominance that has brought California’s criminal justice system to the brink of collapse and paralyzed attempts to bring responsible change through the normal legislative process. The power of the prison industrial complex…
Welcome to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice’s newly developed Policy Center. This page will predominantly serve as a posting board for updates and current news in the fields of juvenile and criminal justice. Postings will be made by experts in the field, to include our various Directors and Senior Research Fellows. This page is technically a blog, and we hope you check back often to learn about the most recent events in the field of justice. Thank you.
Prop. 5 would fund innovative treatment for drug offenders AlterNet, October 25, 2008 and San Francisco Chronicle, October 10, 2008
No on Proposition 6 – A Special Interest Raid on California’s Treasury California Progress Report, October 9, 2008
Oct 8, 2008
Guest Editorial: No on Proposition 6
Guest Editorial: No on Proposition 6 Beyond Chron, October 8, 2008