Month: August 2020

The World is Watching: Mass Violations by U.S. Police of Black Lives Matter Protesters’ Rights – Amnesty International USA

The killings of Black people in the United States have sparked mass movements across the country as people have taken to the streets to demand accountability, long overdue reforms to policing and criminal justice systems, and end to systemic racism. While the video-taped killing of George Floyd, as well as the killings of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, fueled the protests, the use of deadly force against communities of color is tragically not new. It is part of a historic pattern of discrimination by law enforcement, including unjustified stops and searches, racial profiling, and excessive use of force.
— Read on www.amnestyusa.org/worldiswatching/

Is this the end of crime decline? – New York Daily News

Violence in New York is up. If you ask the NYPD, the 30-year New York City crime decline is over. Police have been known to cry wolf and can see the even most beautiful blue sky as falling. But what if this time it’s true?
— Read on www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-the-end-of-crime-decline-20200719-e77s74cv7nhxjllosarp74lp2u-story.html

Hearing on Protests Across U.S. and Lafayette Square Incident

Acting U.S. Park Police Chief Gregory Monahan testified on the agency’s role in clearing protesters in Lafayette Square in June 2020 so that President Trump could pose for a photograph at St. John’s Church nearby. Chief Monahan said protesters were cleared from the area to erect fencing meant to stop violence that had occurred in the area the days leading up to the incident. He denied the order to clear the park was connected to the presidential picture at the church and said Park Police and members of the Secret Service used “tremendous restraint.” Major Adam DeMarco of the District of Columbia National Guard, who was acting as a liaison between Park Police and the National Guard that day, also testified under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act. Major DeMarco stated he saw unidentified law enforcement use pepper balls to disperse protesters that day. He said in his opening statement the events were “deeply disturbing” and that demonstrators were “behaving peacefully.” See the video HERE

Attorney General Barr Testifies on Justice Department Mission and Programs

AG Barr was awesome in his testimony. The Democratic Representatives’ statements and questions were terrible, filled with lies, it was misleading, fabrications. How are they fulfilling their oath of office and representing the American People.

Attorney General William Barr testified on the Justice Department’s mission and programs in an oversight hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers questioned the attorney general on a range issues of including involvement in the Roger Stone and Michael Flynn cases, police reform, and federal law enforcement actions toward protesters. SEE IT HERE

Federal Probation and Supervised Release Violations

Federal Probation and Supervised Release Violations presents data on approximately 108,000 violation hearings that occurred between 2013 and 2017. The report examines the prevalence, types, and locations of federal supervision violations as well as the characteristics of more than 82,000 violators. The report also compares supervision violators to the population of federal offenders originally sentenced to probation or a sentence including a term of supervised release during the same time period. (Published July 28, 2020)

Barracks Behind Bars II: In Veteran-Specific Housing Units, Veterans Help Veterans Help Themselves

Why A Veteran-Specific Approach

One of the most frequent questions an organization considering veteran-specific approaches to corrections asks is “why.” While there is consensus that veterans deserve recognition, discussion remains about whether programming tailored to the needs of veterans is the most compelling way to help justice-involved veterans in the criminal justice system. After all, they share many of the same characteristics as non-veterans. But there is one crucial difference.

Military experience gives veterans work ethics, loyalties, and even skills that separate them from those who have not had similar training. Combat veterans, those who served in combat during service, are a subgroup of veterans who may have even greater needs. To classify veterans without accounting for their unique experience would be to dismiss the benefits of their service and limit access to specialized treatments and care.

In the latest publication of the National Institute of Corrections justice-involved veterans series, Barracks Behind Bars II: In Veteran-Specific Housing Units, Veterans Help Veterans Help Themselves, prison-focused programming for veterans is addressed. The publication is based on interviews with those working in the field, practicing in real time the work it takes to conceive of, develop, and sustain veteran-specific programming in a prison. As you read through the document, you will find that no two programs are exactly the same. This speaks to the flexibility that systems have to create approaches that are based on the talents and resources available in their own immediate area.

Below, you will find an audio snippet of our interview with Liberty. In this clip, he explains his “why.” Why a veteran-specific approach to corrections. We hope you will find his response not only insightful but inspiring. Veteran-specific approaches can be developed in any system. Consider reading Barracks Bars II and others in the justice-involved veterans series to find out why and also how.