Below are some links to some of the latest discussions on Probation. The first article is on how Georgia’s privatized probation isn’t working. The second link is to Pew Trusts analysis on the criminal probation system.
Youth * Guns * Chicago
Here are 3 publications about Youth Guns in Chicago
- The first is a news article at “The Trace”
- The second link is to an article about social networking and firearms access in the Journal of Urban Health
- The final publication is a Gun Trace report by CPD
How and Why Chicago’s At-Risk Youth Carry Guns
Young people in the city’s violent neighborhoods arm themselves for protection, new research shows, knowing that few shooters are caught by the police.
Access the article HERE
Chicago Criminals Are ‘Handshakes’ Away From Illegal Guns, Study Finds
Chicago has heralded much-welcome reductions in gun violence this year, but the city is still regularly convulsed by shootings, with some 50 people injured or killed by gunfire in the first week of May alone. Just how easy it is for Chicago’s shooters to obtain their weapons came into sharper relief this month, thanks to innovative new research.
Closer to Guns: the Role of Street Gangs in Facilitating Access to Illegal Firearms.
Abstract
Criminal offenders often turn to social networks to gain access to firearms, yet we know little about how networks facilitate access to firearms. This study conducts a network analysis of a co-offending network for the City of Chicago to determine how close any offender may be to a firearm. We use arrest data to recreate the co-offending network of all individuals who were arrested with at least one other person over an eight-year period. We then use data on guns recovered by the police to measure potential network pathways of any individual to known firearms. We test the hypothesis that gangs facilitate access to firearms and the extent to which such access relates to gunshot injury among gang members. Findings reveal that gang membership reduces the potential network distance (how close someone is) to known firearms by 20% or more, and regression results indicate that the closer gang members are to guns, the greater their risk of gunshot victimization.
Link to JOURNAL
Gun Trace Report 2017 Chicago PD
Report HERE
Promising Strategies for Strengthening Homicide Investigations
Here is a new publication for strengthening Homicide Investigations. BJA always produces excellent resources.
Findings and Recommendations from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Homicide Investigations Enhancement Training and Technical Assistance Project (NCJ 252173), BJA-Sponsored, October 2018. With support from BJA, the Police Executive Research Forum conducted a multi-year project to assess homicide investigation practices in five cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Houston, Miami, and Pittsburgh. This report summarizes the lessons learned from those five studies.
Promising Strategies for Strengthening Homicide Investigations
Violent Crime Reduction Operations Guide
Developed by the Major Cities Chiefs Association with support from BJA, this resource outlines actions and activities that are relatable agency to agency and that have contributed to successful crime-fighting strategies throughout the country.
Operation Ceasefire – Pulling Levers
This is one of the BEST videos on any policing strategy. After watching the video it seems that Pulling Levels was the perfect crime-fighting at the right time.
This video is an excellent example of how the Criminal Justice System impacts a community.
In the beginning of the video we see how crime is increasing and the police response (flood the area with police and stop everything) had cause some collateral damage. The video also shows that when the focus is to stop a problem (murders) that partners can develop and work together for the benefit of the community.
This is a must watch video.
video.newyorker.com/watch/how-operation-ceasefire-transformed-urban-policing
Racial disparities in citations for marijuana offenses in Miami
City officials in 2015 created a new “citation” system for use in misdemeanor pot cases to keep more people out of prisons and jails. New data confirms that those citations are largely going to white residents while black residents are more often charged with criminal offenses that can result in prison sentences. It’s “a lot more complicated” than that, says a police spokesman.
News Article
ACLU webpage
https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/6440miamidadedisparities20180715spreads.pdf
Report
https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/6440miamidadedisparities20180715spreads.pdf
Dixon Exonerated, Released After Nearly 30 Years in Prison | WBEN 930am
By: Mike Baggerman & Dana CasulloBUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – After serving 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, Valentino Dixon is now a free man.
— Read on wben.radio.com/articles/dixon-exonerated-released-after-nearly-30-years-prison
I Wonder what were all the factors that came together to convict Mr. Dixon. Could the same thing happen today? What could have happened if this was a capital murder conviction?
