Blog Feb 26, 2013
Part III: Trends in girls’ crime
It was noted in part II of this series that girls who run away from home are often doing so because of sexual abuse at home. As reported in the New York Times an estimated 1.6 million juveniles run away from or are thrown out of their homes each year; over half are girls.
Blog Feb 21, 2013
Who is causing crime in California?
Sensationalized stories and anecdotal information in the media over the past year may make you want to hide behind a closed door. In 2011, Realignment caused great concern that floods of state inmates would walk out of state prison and into the streets. This of course was not true, but over the last year media stories have highlighted concerns that Realignment is causing more local crime.
Feb 20, 2013
Police hiring boom hits Bay Area departments
After years of cutbacks, layoffs — and now climbing crime rates — police departments throughout the Bay Area have begun taking on new recruits again.
Blog Feb 19, 2013
Part II: Trends in girls’ crime
As noted in Part I of this series, running away and sexual abuse are much more significant in the lives of girls than boys. Sexual abuse is particularly salient for girls and may well propel girls into behaviors such as running away from home or other status offenses. As already noted, girls are much more likely than boys to be the victims of childhood sexual abuse: it has been estimated that roughly 70 percent of the victims are female.
Overall crime in the county’s unincorporated areas went down more than 5 percent in 2012, according to data released by the Merced County Sheriff’s Department this month.
On Tuesday, March 19, 2013, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is hosting its annual Justice Summit for 2013, celebrating 50 years of Gideon.
On March 21 – 22, 2013, the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal, the UC Hastings Criminal Justice Institute, and the California Correctional Crisis Blog will present a symposium adrressing Realignment.
On February 21, 2013, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm San Francisco State University is hosting a panel discussion entitled, Promoting Public Policy Reform from Inside and Outside Government, at SF State’s Downtown Campus, 835 Market Street, Room 609, SF, CA 94103.
Blog Feb 14, 2013
Charles Manson and the politics of fear
Forty-three years ago, Charles Manson and his “Family” of disciples brutally murdered nine innocent people in Los Angeles. The killings are among the most notorious in the nation’s history, and continue to haunt the public imagination. By March 3, Gov. Jerry Brown will decide whether to release one of the Family members, Bruce Davis, from prison.
Blog Feb 12, 2013
Part I: Trends in girls’ crime
Meda Chesney-Lind and I are currently updating our book Girls, Delinquency and Juvenile Justice (to be published by Wiley-Blackwell at the end of this year) and in this blog I want to report some updated information about recent trends in the offenses girls commit.
Now, despite the somewhat quixotic nature of the quest, Monterey County officials are working to come up with a more fact-based view of local crime and whether state prisoner realignment plays any role in it.
The White House recently announced the appointment of Robert Listenbee Jr. as permanent director to the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). OJJDP has not had a permanent director since 2009, with appointments regularly held up by political maneuvering in the U.S. Senate.