Unofficial notes from the meeting, taken by CJCJ’s Brian Goldstein.
Blog Aug 15, 2013
Why the Gigantic, Decades-Long Drop in Black Youth Crime Threatens Major Interests
How can such an encouraging development as a massive drop in youth crime be treated as such bad news that no one will even talk about it? It’s worse than that: politicians, crime lobbies, and the news media needs black youths to be murderous thugs.
Blog Aug 15, 2013
Guns: a Reign of Terror
In his latest book, Tom Diaz, a former gun enthusiast and an ex-member of the National Rifle Association, the first chapter is appropriately called “A Reign of Terror.” How true this is, as the data he presents show.
Statistical bigotry is just bigotry. Though selectively applied to create fear toward young black men, it can be used to stigmatize any group in society, as illustrated here.
Another change in management at Ventura Youth Correctional Facility casts doubt on reform success.
According to a new CJCJ report, California’s counties have spent significant resources and jail capacity, often at their own expense, to detain suspected undocumented immigrants who do not have a reported criminal history. Yet if this population is notably law-abiding, why are so many of them in our local jails?
Publications Aug 5, 2013
Detention of non-criminal individuals has impact on post-Realignment California
CJCJ releases report examining the large number of suspected undocumented immigrants, without a criminal history, who are detained in California’s local jails on non-mandatory holds.
A new report from the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice suggests California jails could alleviate overcrowding by refusing to detain non-criminals accused of immigration violations.
While the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is an exciting step in our society’s health care reform, its exclusion of undocumented immigrants will only further highlight the disparities that this population faces and induce a chain reaction of increased health care costs for all Americans.
This month CJCJ began providing mentoring services to youth in detention, and staff visited innovative post-Realignment programs in San Francisco and published an op-ed on SB 260.
Local model practices exist throughout the nation and there is substantial empirical research available to interested parties who seek to re-think their approach to juvenile and criminal justice. Justice leaders do not need to reinvent the wheel, but learn from others who have boldly risked a different approach within their local jurisdiction.
A new original series, Orange is the New Black, has received attention because the show provides a powerful look at our criminal justice system and life in prison. Hopefully this can facilitate a larger conversation about the state of American criminal justice.