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When we look at how well or poorly a program or strategy in the criminal justice realm is working, the gold standard of assessment has traditionally been whether or not the strategy lowers recidivism rates.
Yet, in an intriguing new paper published this month, nationally regarded justice reform experts Jeffrey Butts and Vincent Schiraldi caution against falling into the “recidivism trap.”
When used as the sole measure of effectiveness, Schiraldi and Butts write, “recidivism misleads policymakers and the public…” and “focuses policy on negative rather than positive outcomes.”
Recidivism is not a comprehensive measure of success for criminal justice in general or for community corrections specifically, according to the two authors. When used to judge the effects of justice interventions on behavior, the concept of recidivism may even be harmful, “as it often reinforces the racial and class biases underlying much of the justice system.”
And that’s a big problem say Butts and Schiraldi.
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The gunman who killed five co-workers and wounded five policemen at an Illinois factory was a violent felon who nevertheless obtained a state permit to buy a firearm despite being legally barred from owning one, authorities said on Saturday.
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TJ founder Professor David Wexler writes... Routledge Press has just published a crucially important book that should be of real and immediate interest to the Therapeutic Jurisprudence community. Authors Barbara Babb and Judith Moran’s Caring for Families in Court : An Essential Approach to Family Justice is a slim and meaty book that charts a course for moving family…
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“We’re focusing on ways to keep kids in school,” said Sean Goldman, assistant superintendent of student support services for the Simi Valley Unified School District. “The culture of the district has changed and morphed more into a mindset of helping kids to do better is a better strategy than punishing them.”
Oxnard Union wasn’t far behind. With a student population consisting of entirely high school students — the group most likely to have more suspensions — the district has the highest suspension rate in the county. But that may change.
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The study found that climate and relationships in the restorative practices schools improved, compared with the control schools. In addition, the number of days lost to suspension declined in the restorative practices schools, as did racial and income disparities in suspension rates, when compared to the control schools.
Reductions in suspension rates were greater for African American students, students from low-income families, female students and elementary grade students than for students not in these groups.
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JANUARY 23, 2019
Massive jail reform study involves NCSC
One out of 24 people in the world live in the United States. One out of four of the incarcerated people in the world live in U.S. jails and prisons.
Much has been written about the soaring U.S. prison population, but nearly 20 times more people are admitted to jails than prisons each year, many charged with non-violent crimes but unable to afford their bail.
The Safety and Justice Challenge, a study by the MacArthur Foundation to get to the bottom of the problem of over-incarceration in jails, includes 14 “partner organizations” and 13 “strategic allies,” one of which is NCSC.
“This is a huge effort to tackle a huge problem,” said Pam Casey, NCSC’s new Research Vice President, “and we’re excited to be involved so we can be part of the solution.”
NCSC’s role involves communicating with the courts about this issue, developing resources to guide courts, and providing specific help to the 52 courts currently involved in the study. NCSC staff from four divisions -- Research, Government Affairs, Court Consulting Services and Knowledge and Information Services -- are involved.
The communication work has produced a courts and jails website, a courts and jail discussion forum, and frequent social media posts.
The resources segment has led to four reports that help courts respond to those with mental and/or substance use disorders, and those charged with DUI and domestic violence offenses.
For the judges and other stakeholders of the 52 courts involved in the study, NCSC has facilitated judicial roundtables, offered webinars, and provided help with case flow and case load management, among other things.
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Ask anyone about what’s most important for schools to be considered “good” and student safety is sure to be one of the top responses. A safe and orderly school environment must have an effective framework for ensuring students are engaged and supported while also addressing student behaviors that interfere with learning. The challenge of creating such an environment led many schools and districts to adopt zero tolerance policies and practices. This is problematic.
According to Farnel Maxime, a Juvenile Justice Fellow for Shared Justice, “zero-tolerance policies were written into school handbooks in the 1990s, created originally to be a deterrent for bringing weapons into schools.” Research has shown that schools that implement zero tolerance policies likely contribute to the school to prison pipeline. It is critical that schools and districts explore other options for student discipline.
Did you know that a zero tolerance policy requires school administrators to hand down specific, consistent, and harsh punishment—usually suspension or expulsion—when students break certain rules? The punishment applies regardless of the circumstances, the reasons for the behavior (like self-defense), or the student’s history of discipline problems. Because of this many critics call these policies “one strike and you’re out.”
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Restorative Justice is regarded as effective in reducing likelihood of offences being recommitted.
This is according to Coordinator of the Restorative Justice Unit in the Ministry of Justice, Dr Kahilah Whyte.
“What is happening now is that we have instances where offenders are becoming Restorative Justice Volunteers [and] are now helping individuals to heal and go about their lives,” she said.
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The temporary Alaska budget director from Michigan, still developing the secret plan to cut $1.5 billion from the state budget, has pushed private prisons elsewhere, which seems to be why this idea may be inflicted on Alaskans.
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The Ministry of Justice is seeking to spark a cultural shift in the way troubled children are dealt with in Jamaica.
Consequently, the justice ministry is to start training members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), along with other key stakeholders, in child diversion practices.
Child diversion is the process of using alternative measures to formal judicial proceedings to deal with children who are alleged, accused or recognised to have infringed the law.
Senior Director for Corporate Services in the Ministry of Justice, Sandra Graham, told JIS News, that deans of disciplines and guidance counsellors in schools are also being targeted for training, citing them as pivotal partners in the broader restorative justice framework.
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It’s hard to imagine the Trudeau government’s recent criminal code amendment, the one designed to shield large corporations from prosecution in fraud and corruption cases, was not made specifically with Quebec-based SNC-Lavelin in mind.
After all, the multinational engineering giant had been lobbying the federal government and waging a well-funded public relations campaign for months calling for a new law that would absolve companies like it from criminal sanctions for wrongdoing such as fraud and bribery.
SNC-Lavelin was charged with corruption and bribery in 2015 related to contracts it had in Libya. The company had been lobbying government for a “deferred prosecution” provision that allows prosecutors to stay charges for certain kinds of “economic” offences – including the ones the firm is facing – in exchange for various forms of reparation.
It’s kind of like restorative justice for big corporations. They pay fines, make amends to victims, forfeit any assets gained illegally and pledge to clean up their act in exchange for having criminal charges against them dropped.
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With more women cheating than ever, according to experts, we found out why 16 women who cheated did it.
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One bill heard Thursday before the Judiciary Committee would outline requirements for having school resource officers in schools. Another bill would ban them entirely.
There are about 75 school resource officers — or police officers in schools — in Nebraska, according to a December report by the ACLU of Nebraska.
Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks introduced a measure, Legislative Bill 390, that would require that each law enforcement agency that has officers in schools create a “memorandum of understanding” with the school district.
“I do not believe that most parents want our juvenile justice system having jurisdictions over things that should be handled through restorative justice, conflict resolution training, as well as school disciplinary measures,” Pansing Brooks said.
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A mediation circle in Opaskwayak Cree Nation announced conditions two women are required to abide by following their racist social media posting last summer.
It involved two women making hateful and racist remarks towards Indigenous people.
The two women, one from Flin Flon, Man., the other from a neighbouring community on the other side of the Saskatchewan border -- made the Facebook post in July of 2018.
The thread began with a rant from one of the women about her car and property being vandalized and escalated to one of the women proposing a "24-hour purge" and the other proposing "a shoot an Indian day."
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Men As Peacemakers' Restorative Justice Program serves juvenile offenders, family members and victims. We use the Circle Process to provide mediation for different levels of offenders: diversion, misdemeanor theft, gross misdemeanor and felony, and juveniles that are incarcerated.
Map's Restorative Justice philosophy recognizes the importance and power of human relationships within the community. The effects of violence and crime travel through relationships between people, and ripples out into the community. We strive to repair and foster the kind of connections a healthy community is built upon.
This program serves juvenile offenders, family members and victims using the Circle Process to provide mediation for different levels of offenders. MAP facilitates dialogue around complex and divisive issues and supports the reparation of harm caused by crime and violence. Through the Circle Process, MAP strives to repair and foster the kind of connections a healthy community is built upon while holding juvenile offenders accountable and creating a safe space for people to heal and rebuild relationships that have been broken.
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The DVRC Program philosophy is threefold: holding offenders accountable for their actions, honoring victim safety and autonomy, and supporting both the victim and offender as they transition to healthier lives. Offenders participate in Transition circles made up of community volunteers who start circles while incarcerated and continue circles as offenders are re-entering the community. Transition circles work to develop a contract that is adopted into the offender’s court and probation for steps to repair the harm and continue growing healthier, respectful, nonviolent lives. Support circles for victims are made up of community volunteers and provide opportunities to discuss past violence, healing and growth. Both Transition and Support circles are tailored to individual’s unique situations and explore creative methods to reach participant’s goals.
The Circle process is a specific and intensive approach to batterers. Transition Circles focus on holding an offender accountable for the violence committed while providing the social support necessary for the offender to change their thinking and behavior. The Transition Circle process also provides the opportunity to identify radiating issues and other factors that may exacerbate the violence including family history of violence, chemical dependency, mental illness, sexism, and socialization. The offender is connected to community resources that can help reduce the impact those factors will have on future behavior. Actively involving community members in the Circle process helps connect offenders with people who will provide support and accountability.
MAP has designed these circles with local domestic violence organizations to help increase victim safety and involve the community in creating greater accountability and potential for change for domestic violence offenders. In the past year:
13 victims were offered resources through the circle
MAP received 23 Total Offender Referrals
100 estimated community members connected to offenders and victims including family, friends and children impacted by this program
6 people served as Support for offenders or victims in their circle
74 volunteers participated in the process (duplicated)
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Education plays a key role in preventing crime and promoting a culture of lawfulness that supports human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. The E4J initiative is developing a series of modules on crime prevention and criminal justice, which lecturers can use as a basis for teaching in universities and academic institutions all around the world. Addressing a broad range of criminal justice topics, the series will equip students with knowledge about the fundamental role that effective, fair, humane and accountable crime prevention and criminal justice institutions play in support of the rule of law and the promotion of peace. To increase their effectiveness, the modules will connect theory to practice, encourage critical thinking, and use innovative interactive teaching approaches such as experiential learning and group-based work. The modules will be multi-disciplinary and can be integrated in existing courses on criminology, law, political science, international relations, sociology, and many other disciplines. The broad range of examples used to elucidate the United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice means that the modules are relevant globally. The modules can also be adapted by lecturers to address specific local and cultural contexts, and the E4J Teaching Guide on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will provide lecturers with additional guidance on teaching the modules across multidisciplinary settings.
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The primary purpose of jails is to detain those awaiting trial who are a danger to public safety or a flight risk. Jailing someone who is neither results in huge costs for families and communities, including lost income, parents separated from their children, untreated mental health and substance abuse problems, a greater risk of re-offending, and wasted taxpayer dollars.
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PHOTO: THERESA HARRINGTON/EDSOURCEOakland Unified students have taken to the streets to protest the district's planned cuts to restorative justice and other programs.
A proposal to make deep cuts to the Oakland Unified School District’s renowned restorative justice program — part of an overall effort to slash nearly $22 million from next school year’s budget — has triggered loud opposition from youth advocates, students and parents.
Restorative justice is an increasingly popular alternative to traditional approaches to school discipline such as suspension and expulsion, and is based on the principle of the offender making amends for the damage his or her behavior may have caused.
The current proposal before the school board calls for more than $850,000 in cuts to the 2019-20 budget that the head of the program says would likely lead to the elimination of all but a handful of positions from the district’s 31-person restorative justice team.
The cuts would effectively gut a program that has become a model for implementing alternatives to traditional discipline in schools, said David Yusem, the district’s restorative justice coordinator.
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Retributive justice is an important component of our social contract, aptly described by the phrase “You do the crime, you do the time.” The state, represented by legislators, cops, lawyers and judges, courts, jails, and state and federal prison systems, takes responsibility for assessing guilt and punishment when its laws are violated. Crime, therefore, is understood principally as an offense against the state.
Have you heard of the term “restorative justice”? In contrast, restorative justice theory holds that the person violated by a criminal act, not the state, is the principal victim. Restitution, consequently, is a relational transaction between an offender and their victim.
Some crime victims want no further involvement with an offender beyond the court’s decision rendered by the state-sponsored retributive justice process. Other crime victims, however, have a need for more. “The opportunity for a crime victim to find hope and resolution by repairing the harm done by crime — beyond what happens in the courtroom” is a good working definition of restorative justice.
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Trauma Recovery Centers A transformational new model of care for survivors of violent crime Trauma recovery centers are removing barriers to health and stability, healing communities and interrupting cycles of violence
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Phil Hawkins, founder of Dads Against Destruction (DADs), helps mentor teens. Hawkins was born and raised in Nashville and said the crimes youths are committing today are not the same when he was younger.
"It's heart-wrenching because we know what we need to do but it's not being done," Hawkins said.
Hawkins said current laws concerning how runaway juveniles are detained need to be reformed. Currently, law enforcement officers can arrest and transport runaways to the Juvenile Justice Center. Parents or guardians have 24 hours to pick up their child before they are placed in the Department of Childrens' Services custody. If runaways are not picked up during that time period, parents or guardians could be charged with child neglect.
The mother of 16-year-old Decorrius Wright who was charged with homicide after Thursday's fatal shooting , told Newschannel 5 her son was at the Juvenile Justice Center Wednesday night before the shooting because he ran away. She picked him up.
On Thursday, Wright, Diamond Lewis, 15, of Dinwiddie Drive, and Roniyah McKnight, 14, of Clifton Avenue were charged with homicide in the death of 24-year-old Kyle Yorlets . A 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy were also charged.
Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway said kids at this age struggle to find themselves.
"It's so important for us as a community to make sure that we're providing positive opportunities for those kids in that age group to make sure that they're going the right way not the wrong way," she said.
Calloway said the community needs more services for parents on how to discipline their children. She also suggested parents ask churches or local organizations for help on how to teach their children right and wrong if needed.
"I tell people all the time two-thirds of the cases that we deal with deal with parent issues and then there's that third of youth that get in trouble based on whatever their activities are. If I can work more on helping the parents and the parents' issues than we may be able to solve some of the youth issues," she said.
Calloway suggested parents can take parenting classes through agencies such as the Family Center or Oasis Center.
"It's a responsibility of the parent to come and pick up their child. We want to help parents before it gets to that point. We need to be more of a village completely for our youth and our parents and help one another out so we don't have rely on the court system to do it," she said.
Hawkins said people shouldn't be quick to point the blame on parents.
"These kids go to juveniles overnight, 24 hours it's not enough, they're repeat offenders, you got to make tougher laws, it's just what it is. I send out a prayer and condolences to the families, both families, cause it's a bad situation. I'm not going to sit here and bash the mothers. Unfortunately it happened, moms got to work, dad might not be there. Kids are going to be mischievous and come outside. It's a bad situation all the way around," Hawkins said.
The district attorney's office said it hopes to charge the young suspects as adults but that will be determined by a judge.
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A federal judge dismissed a racketeering lawsuit accusing Walmart Inc. and six other retailers of extortion by forcing accused shoplifters to take costly "restorative justice" classes or else be reported to the police.
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NASHVILLE (WSMV) - Five juveniles are in custody after allegedly shooting and killing a local musician in north Nashville on Thursday.
Kyle Yorlets, 24, was killed in the shooting.
The teens were located Friday morning inside a stolen vehicle at the Walmart on Charlotte Pike. Police used cell phone pings to track the suspects.
According to police, the suspects had a stolen loaded pistol with them and a second loaded pistol was found inside the store. Police said the car was stolen from Brentwood.
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the suspects are 14-year-old Roniyah McKnight, 15-year-old Diamond Lewis and 16-year-old Decorrius Wright. A 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy are also charged. Under Tennessee law, three of the teens' names were allowed to be released because they are over 13 and are charged with homicide.
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