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From the Los Angeles Times

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Prison realignment done right

Putting California inmates under county control offers a chance for innovation and progress.

November 13, 2011

Californians shouldn't be surprised by recent reports, such as The Times' front-page story Friday, that county jails are filling up. Public safety realignment is no secret. After years of refusal to consider sentencing reforms, inability to provide adequate drug treatment, unwillingness to prepare parolees for lives outside prison and a continuing insistence on locking up more people longer, state prisons became so overcrowded that the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the population reduced. There was no appetite among the public or their elected representatives to build and staff more prisons. The state's options were to immediately release 33,000 inmates onto the streets, or to "realign": move much of the authority for inmates to the county level. Gov. Jerry Brown wisely chose the latter course. Counties now have to do what state government couldn't: make choices about whom to keep behind bars, whom to monitor at home with ankle bracelets, whom to refer for drug treatment.

The emergency realignment builds on a nationwide movement of more thoughtful, more deliberative decisions to incarcerate less and rehabilitate more. Many of the progressive innovations in criminal justice are coming not from supposedly liberal states and officials, but from conservatives who are determined to focus on cost and outcomes while keeping justice in the forefront. The group Right on Crime is setting the pace in states such as Texas. At the same time, leaders on the left, in California and elsewhere, have been conspicuously quiet about making realignment work. It's time for liberals who have long criticized the prison-industrial complex to redirect the local discourse from panic to progress.

There's no doubt that our current realignment program — the one that threatens to fill county jails — was less the result of a thoughtful plan than a slap-dash move in response to crisis. It would have been preferable for California to move forward without such emergencies. On this issue, however, as with so many others, it didn't.

But there is a precedent with at least some record of success: In 2007, after a parallel crowding and abuse crisis at the California Youth Authority, the state realigned juvenile justice programs to send more youth offenders back to their home counties. For all the dysfunction of Los Angeles County's Probation Department, officials were able manage the new population of juveniles returning to their communities — sometimes with home detention and monitoring, often with alternative programming — without upticks in youth crime.

This time, there will no doubt be high-profile mistakes, but if the county could deal with youth realignment, it has a decent shot at dealing with its larger counterpart. Hardened criminals need not be released, if the county can learn from others throughout the state and nation how to distinguish between nonviolent suspects awaiting trial and dangerous convicts who belong behind bars.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-realign-20111113,0,6841083.story

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From Google News

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Michigan

Bing must say, 'Enough,' then lead

The bodies continue to pile up in too many Detroit neighborhoods.

And Mayor Dave Bing continues to stand down.

In a city where murder is as common as the sunrise, Bing has yet to attack the homicide crisis head-on, or to help build the social, cultural or neighborhood infrastructure that could get at root causes.

Detroit had the nation's highest homicide rate among the largest cities in 2010, and the city concedes the problem is worsening: Detroit's on track to post a 20% year-over-year increase in killings for 2011. The homicide rate could reach its highest point in nearly a decade.

But what are the city's leaders doing to reverse the trend?

Bing's police chief, Ralph Godbee Jr., is as given to bemoaning the social impetus for murder as he is to announcing initiatives to target hot spots or repeat offenders. Clearance rates -- which could serve as a deterrent for some would-be killers if they were high enough -- remain among the nation's worst, averaging less than half in the past decade.

The city has no targeted approach -- such as community policing or warrant roundups or zero tolerance -- like those that have reduced homicide rates in other troubled cities.

And Bing's language about Detroit's epidemic of killings suggests resignation more than outrage. He talks more about what police can't do than what they can. He says it's about getting people in the city to "start trusting each other" and respecting each other, which is true enough.

But we have never heard this mayor say: "Whatever the reason, whatever the context, we're just not going to tolerate this level of terror."

We have never heard him say, "Enough," and follow up with action that makes a substantial, lasting dent in the killings.

And so the mayhem continues.

A man with a grievance tosses Molotov cocktails into three houses and kills a police officer's father. Incredibly, the mayor says very little. Nobody has been charged.

A 5-year-old girl is abducted from her home and strangled, her body burned. Police have not solved the crime.

Just last week, the legless torso of a missing teen was found burned on the east side.

These are not just killings, but horrific and unimaginable crimes that in other cities would incite leaders to dramatic responses and angry, thundering denunciations.

In our city, they barely raised leadership's eyebrows.

Yes, Detroit has profound and perplexing social problems that drive violence and murder. It's a problem that gets worse as the city's middle class erodes and its cultural institutions break down. Churches, neighborhood groups, block clubs -- all have become strapped or scarce as resources leave Detroit.

It's also true that Detroit police have their moments of triumph. When a 3-year-old was shot on the east side last summer, police caught the murder suspect within weeks. When 15 people were shot and nine died in a 24-hour period in August, police cleared 13 of the cases by early September.

Bing is also very tuned in to the horror of what city residents face. His speech at the funeral of Officer Brian Huff, killed responding to a break-in on the east side, was deeply moving and penetrating. And I know of his visits, away from the cameras, to the families of many of the city's slain children.

Bing shies from making too much of his efforts to comfort the victims of the city's murder problem, a noble instinct that reflects his dignified approach to the job.

But leadership starts at the top and has to trickle down through both the Police Department and the community. And the mayor still needs to find his voice on this issue.

Earlier in his administration, Bing did see proactive police action reduce homicides. In 2010, the overall number had declined 15%, largely on the heels of efforts by former Police Chief Warren Evans.

Since then, however, Godbee has de-emphasized and downplayed the value of aggressive policing, saying it's a response rather than an effort to stop homicides in the first place.

But we've seen in cities like Boston how a consistent message from the mayor and a comprehensive approach from the police department have built powerful community-based efforts to stop senseless killing.

We've seen in cities like Baltimore how fierce attention to the small class of repeat offenders has helped slow the body count.

Policing is what the mayor and the police chief control. And it's what they're responsible for.

Other cities are proving that it can work.

Bing needs to stand up and insist that Detroiters follow.

http://www.freep.com/article/20111113/COL33/311130004/Stephen-Henderson-Bing-must-say-Enough-then-lead

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Jeff Gerritt: Other big cities find ways to cut violence

Violent crime plagues every major city in the nation.

It's a tough, complex and vexing problem. In Detroit, the problem is especially acute, with swaths of city neighborhoods beset by abandonment, lack of social fabric and spotty city services. But the notion that Detroit can't take aggressive action to reduce homicide rates is wrong and dangerous -- because it adds to the hopelessness and helplessness in many neighborhoods.

Crime is not a natural phenomenon, like bad weather, as Gary LaFree, a University of Maryland criminologist, put it. "More efficient use of policing can make a difference," he said. "It's probably not a 50% difference, but it can be a 10% difference."

Here are three cities that show how law enforcement working hand-in-hand with communities and neighborhoods can make a difference.

BALTIMORE: A FOCUS ON REPEAT VIOLENT OFFENDERS

Sometimes called "Bodymore," Baltimore provided the hard-knock backdrop for the superlative HBO drama "The Wire." It appears perennially on a short list of cities with the nation's highest homicide rates.

In 1993, Baltimore peaked at 353 homicides. Unlike Detroit, however, Baltimore continues to lower the number of homicides and nonfatal shootings through technology and data-driven police work that relies on close cooperation between state and local law enforcement agencies.

Frederick H. Bealefeld III became Baltimore's police commissioner in 2007. The following year, the city reported a 17% drop in homicides, to 234. In 2010, Baltimore had 223 homicides, the lowest level in 25 years. Nonfatal shootings in this city of 621,000 people also dropped, from 585 in 2008 to 417 in 2010 -- and have continued to decline this year. Juvenile homicides and shootings recorded even larger drops.

Baltimore didn't do this by arresting more people. In fact, Baltimore police arrested far fewer people, as Commissioner Bealefeld told his officers to cut back on drug arrests and focus on violent repeat offenders and illegal guns.

Among several new efforts was the Violence Prevention Initiative, launched in 2007. Baltimore police began working daily with state parole and probation agents, who identified the area's most violent offenders and singled them out for closer scrutiny.

Violent repeat offenders on probation or parole were assigned to agents with smaller case loads and arrested for even minor technical violations, such as failing to register a car or find a job, especially if they were suspected of committing serious crimes such as murder or armed robbery. Police say those arrests gave detectives more time to build cases and also prevented further violent crimes. Only a fraction -- maybe 2,000 -- of the 77,000 people under probation or parole supervision are targeted.

Another new effort brought city and state law enforcement agencies, including parole and probation agents and the Maryland State Police, together for 30 days to serve high-priority warrants for suspects with a history of violence. The group cleared 1,029 warrants and arrested 635 people, with the help of a $152,000 state grant to cover overtime.

The city also created a gun offender registry, requiring everyone convicted of a gun crime to register for three years, during which time police officers could conduct random home checks. The program boasts a recidivism rate for gun crimes of less than 10%.

Baltimore officials say the initiatives have widespread community support.

"We know, based on data, which people are more likely to kill or shoot someone," one official said. "We're focusing on a small number of people who are driving violence in the community. That's what people want."

BOSTON: BETTER POLICE- COMMUNITY COOPERATION

Boston's Ten Point Coalition -- a national model for police/community partnerships in the 1990s -- grew out of crisis.

In May 1992, a man was beaten and stabbed almost to death inside Morning Star Baptist Church while attending a funeral for a youth murdered in a drive-by gang shooting. The spectacle of street violence in a house of worship shook the city. The message was clear: No place was safe or sacred.

A group of ministers started neighborhood weekly walks, talking with drug dealers and other young people on their own turf in some of Boston's toughest neighborhoods.

Back then in Boston, police-community relations were as bad as they are in Detroit -- maybe worse -- partly due to the Police Department's notorious stop-and-frisk policy that targeted young black men. Public distrust hit a high in 1994, when police raided the wrong apartment and handcuffed a 75-year-old minister, who died of a heart attack.

Then something miraculous happened. Police apologized for the raid. On the street, officers who had taken part in stop-and-frisk tactics started apologizing to the youths they had harassed. In return, ministers in the Ten Point Coalition asked the community to let the police do their jobs, giving them an umbrella of legitimacy.

The coalition included nearly 70 churches. They worked with police, youth agencies, schools, prisons and community activists. Ten Point became a private nonprofit and helped churches sponsor adopt-a-gang programs; advocated for black and Latino juveniles in court; ran prisoner re-entry programs; organized volunteers to tutor in GED programs; set up community-based economic development projects; supported church-based neighborhood crime-watch programs; established rape crisis centers in churches, and connected congregations with community health centers.

In the late 1990s, under Operation Cease Fire, people in the neighborhoods started helping police identify the players causing the most violence. Once identified, many were given warnings, offered counseling and, in some cases, jobs. They were given a choice: Accept the help the community offers or expect the community to help the police lock them up.

"We prefer the first, but we'll take the second," said Ray Hammond, a Harvard Medical School graduate and co-founder of the Ten Point Coalition. "It's unacceptable to terrorize this community."

Homicides in Boston dropped from 152 in 1990 to 31 in 1999. Since then, homicides have increased, as the coalition struggled to sustain its work. There were 39 homicides in 2003, 49 in 2009, and 73 in 2010. Still, those numbers are five times lower than homicide figures for Detroit, a city with only 15% more people than Boston.

SAN JOSE: EFFECTIVE GANG PREVENTION TASK FORCE

Prevention, intervention and suppression programs, under the 19-year Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force, have created one of the nation's safest big cities. With 1 million people -- nearly 300,000 more than Detroit -- San Jose, Calif., reported an almost incredible 20 homicides last year, down from 31 in 2007.

San Jose wasn't always a model for public safety. The mayor's task force followed a spike in violent juvenile crime in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It now oversees $4 million a year from the city's general fund. The money goes to crime and violence prevention programs run by dozens of community-based nonprofit agencies. They've gotten results, including a nearly 60% drop in admissions to San Jose's juvenile detention center.

Law enforcement is often reactive, but San Jose's gang prevention task force meets monthly to talk about emerging community problems and trends, such as escalating high school dropout rates.

Prevention programs such as recreation and tutoring aim to keep young people out of gangs. Intervention -- including home visits and street outreach -- redirects gang members and other youths already in trouble.

Finally, suppression takes young offenders off the street through arrests and detention. Representatives of public and private groups -- school districts, city and county parks, courts and law enforcement, faith-based and community organizations, state parole and the U.S. attorney -- oversee the efforts.

Community-based organizations work closely with the lead city agencies: the San Jose Police Department and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services. Together, they serve more than 4,000 young people a year.

Crime prevention programs include alternative schools for troubled youths; substance abuse counseling; graffiti removal, and mentoring and tutoring for middle and high school students. Community centers offer recreation and education, including computer classes; guitar lessons; dance instruction; after-school tutoring; night basketball and handball; low-rider bike building, and college preparation.

Like most cities, San Jose must rely on volunteers. Clean Slate, a laser tattoo removal service for ex-gang members seeking jobs, has used volunteer physicians and a donated laser machine to remove more than 12,000 gang-related tattoos.

Those efforts build vital relations between the community and law enforcement.

http://www.freep.com/print/article/20111113/OPINION01/111130456/Jeff-Gerritt-Other-big-cities-find-ways-cut-violence

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Florida

Springs Police promotes Crime Watch program

The rash of residential burglaries in recent months has spurred Miami Springs Police to promote and revitalize its Citizens' Crime Watch program.

“We want to provide our citizens with the information and tools to help us fight crime or stop crime,” said Community Policing Officer Janice Simon. “Who knows their neighborhood better than the residents?”

Simon said that despite police officers cruising the neighborhoods, they don't always know what vehicle doesn't belong at a certain house, or who lives there or what is out of place.

“Residents should call us if they have the slightest suspicion or if a person or activity just doesn't seem right,” said Simon. “Sometimes they will see a person at a neighbor's house and rationalize that maybe it's just a worker or visitor. We'd rather people call us and we'll make the determination.”

According to Simon, burglars could wear a uniform or carry a clipboard to look official, when they could be casing a house for a burglary.

There are more than 344 new Neighborhood Crime Watch groups in Miami-Dade County and 215 are being revitalized. The individual number of participants is 65,000.

“The police are there to assist,” said Simon. “It's up to the people to keep the program going and enlist members. They meet periodically, usually at someone's home, to discuss what's going on. We give them a Crime Watch sign to post in the neighborhood and information on what to look for.”

Presently, police need people who want to be block captains and group captains. Those are the people who recruit their neighbors to be part of knowing what to look for and knowing what action to take.

“The group can decide how often to meet and decide what to do to keep their neighborhood safer, with police guidance and advice, of course,” said Simon. “We don't always have to be at meetings but we will if called upon or in special circumstances.”

Community Policing Officers go to the Senior Center once a month to present a Senior Crime Watch program because seniors are often targeted by con men and scam artists.

“The seniors are very responsive to what we tell them,” said Simon. “They often speak up and tell us how they avoided being scammed.”

Simon said the ultimate goal is to educated citizens and make it more difficult for crime to take root in Miami Springs.

“Yes, Miami Springs is a very safe city,” said Simon. “But we're in Miami-Dade County and whatever happens there could happen here and we don't want to let that happen.”

Anyone interested in becoming a block captain or getting involved with Citizens' Crime Watch should call the Community Policing Office at 305-888-5286

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/11/2492279/springs-police-promotes-crime.html

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