Blog Mar 26, 2013
The rich get richer while everyone else struggles
A couple of interesting news stories appeared today in the Los Angeles Times. The first one is titled “Forbes’ tally of billionaires jumps 16%; Buffett drops in list.” The second is called “Nearly half of Americans are one emergency from financial ruin.”
Mar 26, 2013
Radio Smart Talk: School Safety
What Sandy Hook [-] did was shine a spotlight on school safety.
Publications Mar 21, 2013
Beyond Realignment: Counties’ large disparities in imprisonment underlie ongoing prison crisis
California’s crises of prison overcrowding, unsustainable costs, and court-ordered population reductions are perpetuated by the disparate implementation of Realignment.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CJCJ report analyzes new data from the last quarter of 2012. Finds county disparities contribute to prison crisis and impact all CA taxpayers.
Blog Mar 21, 2013
Debtor’s prisons alive and well
As I have written before jails have been largely reserved for the poor and at one time in history words like jails and poorhouses (along with workhouses and prisons) were used interchangeably.
Nearly 18 months after the state’s prison realignment law took effect, Merced officials agree the jury is still out on whether it meets its intended goals.
Blog Mar 19, 2013
Commercial bail vs. Pretrial services
As you walk down Bryant Street in San Francisco, there are many neon-lit signs advertising for available bail services increasing as you move closer to the Hall of Justice. San Francisco is the birthplace of the bail industry, but in recent years, the county has begun to explore pretrial services that are not driven by commercial enterprise.
Blog Mar 14, 2013
Against violence and against incarceration
Anti-violence activists, who often demand harsher penalties for offenders, tend to work in opposition to those fighting overuse of incarceration, who call for the opposite. This antagonism leaves women of color on the sidelines, as they are disproportionately impacted by both gender-based violence and the criminal justice system.
California counties have increasingly served as incubators for model policy innovation. State policymakers must nurture this bottom-up reform to ensure a balanced approach that benefits our justice-involved youth and promotes public safety.
Blog Mar 7, 2013
Youth incarceration at 35-year low nationally
The Annie E. Casey Foundation released a new report this week highlighting a national 35-year low in youth incarceration with drops across almost every state. Despite this decline in youth crime, it is clear that state and local policies do not reflect an investment in achieving the goals of long-term public safety.
Blog Mar 5, 2013
Part IV: Trends in Girls’ Crime
This is the last of my four part blog series on girls and juvenile justice. Part I provided an overview of the most recent information, Part II discussed the prevalence of histories of sexual abuse among justice-involved girls, Part III dealt with runaways, and this blog will conclude with the most common offense committed by girls.
Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin on Thursday unveiled a new one-stop shop to provide various services to county jail inmates released under the guidelines established by Assembly Bill 109, the state’s prison realignment law.