the crime report

The annual H.F. Guggenheim symposium has emerged as a key date on the nation’s calendar of criminal justice events, primarily because it is the only conference that brings together a select audience of journalists, academics, practitioners and policy makers to discuss current issues of criminal justice facing the nation. You are cordially invited to join [...]

Questionable forensic testimony has kept Joseph Ramirez behind bars in Florida for 25 years. Will a fifth trial finally set him free?
 When the National Academy of Sciences issued a report earlier this year saying that courtroom identifications made by forensic scientists based on evidence such as bite marks, ballistics and other tool marks are frequently [...]

A new report by the US Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Police Executive Research Forum examines how the “stop snitching” phenomenon has intimidated witnesses, stymied investigations and prosecutions and eroded trust between the police and community members around the country.
The 64-page report profiles cities that have created programs to [...]

A new publication by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority provides suggestions for how schools can address behavioral issues and rule-breaking from a restorative, rather than punitive, standpoint. “Implementing Restorative Justice: A Guide for Schools,” finds that “there is no evidence that zero tolerance policies improve student behavior, the school climate or overall school safety,” [...]

A new paper by the National Institute of Justice examines the challenges that the new generation of cell phones poses to the corrections community. Now smaller than ever and with both audio, video and data capacity, the NIJ reports that cell phones have been used to conduct illegal activity.  In the first half of 2008, [...]

Over two million cable subscribers in the U.S. can now browse profiles of local fugitives in the comfort of their living rooms—and help police capture runaway criminals.

On January 25, 38-year-old Simone Ross walked into New Jersey’s Atlantic County Jail and surrendered her freedom. Ross had been on the lam for nearly two years after [...]

In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness, legal scholar Michelle Alexander, a former Supreme Court clerk and former director of the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California argues that the war on drugs has led to mass incarceration and a new racial caste system. Alexander, [...]

The Crime Report talks funding, inertia and over-incarceration with the man who heads Vera Institute of Justice’s NOLA office.
It’s rare for an entire city to get a do-over, but after Hurricane Katrina roared through New Orleans and the levees gave way, the Crescent City became ground zero for policy makers and visionaries wanting to transform [...]

“The administration of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to a settlement yesterday that will keep thousands of nonviolent parole violators out of prison. The Los Angeles Times says the move is expected to save the state money by reducing the population behind bars. It also prompted concern of victims’ advocates.

 
Scott Peterson will stand trial for murder in the slayings of his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son, a judge ruled yesterday in Modesto, Ca. The case has had widespread media attention since the substitute teacher and former high-school cheerleader disappeared last Christmas Eve, the San Francisco Chronicle says.
After 11 days of testimony, [...]

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley is using the criminal grand jury aggressively and frequently, reports the Los Angeles Times. The tactic enables prosecutors to obtain sworn testimony in secret proceedings and frustrates defense attorneys, who fear that their clients’ rights may be violated. Since July 2000, prosecutors have conducted nearly 90 grand jury [...]

Washington, D.C.
Sheree Mixell, chief of public affairs
(202) 927-8500
atfmail@atf.gov
www.atf.gov
 
The ATFE describes itself as “a principal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice dedicated to preventing terrorism, reducing violent crime, and protecting our nation.” The bureau has about 5,000 employees, an annual budget of about $1 billion, regional headquarters in 23 cities and satellite [...]

Washington, D.C.
(202) 307-0765
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/guns.htm
The Website of the BJS, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Justice, includes links to BJS reports on federal firearms offenders, firearm crime injuries, weapons offenses and offenders, and other information concerning guns and crime.

Washington, D.C.
www.fedstats.gov
This federal interagency Website has links to statistics on firearms, among other things.

Special Committee on Gun Violence
Washington, D.C.
E. Bruce Nicholson
(202) 662-1769
nicholsonb@staff.abanet.org
www.abanet.org/gunviol/home.html
 
The committee’s website features position primers and gun violence links. The ABA generally supports a public policy of “more closely regulating the sale, transfer, possession and manufacture of guns.”
 

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Andrew Molchan, director
(954) 467-9994
andrew@amfire.com
www.amfire.com
American Firearms represents the Professional Gun Retailers Association and National Association of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers.

Frederick, Md.
Bob Ricker, media contact
(703) 624-7060
www.huntersandshooters.com
 
The group generally is at odds with the NRA. Ricker, its media contact, is a former gun industry lobbyist who angered the NRA by brokering the 1997 trigger lock agreement between the Clinton White House and gun manufacturers.

Washington, D.C.
Peter Hamm, communications director
(202) 898-0792
phamm@bradymail.org
www.bradycenter.org
 
The Brady Campaign is a leading proponent of gun control and chief adversary of the National Rifle Association.

Washington, D.C.
Ladd Everitt, communications director
(202) 408-0061, ext. 103
(202) 701-7171
leveritt@csgv.org or press@csgv.org
www.csgv.org
 
The coalition is made up of 45 organizations that seek “to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy.” Its members include religious organizations, child welfare advocates, public health professionals and social justice groups.
 

Springfield, Va.
Media contacts: Eddie Isler, Ellie McDaniel
(703) 321-8585
goamail@gunowners.org
www.gunowners.org
 
A non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975, this group says its mission is “to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners.”