Hate crimes

 July 13, 2013

 Peterborough Examiner – Brendan Wedley
Peterborough had highest rate of reported hate crimes among cities in Canada in 2011: Statistics Canada 

 Statistics Canada has released a report on hate crimes in Canada.  The basis of the numbers is police reported incidents measured against the population.  Hate crimes tend to involve race and ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Mischief is the most common charge (over 50% of the time).  Total for Canada’s hate crimes is 1332 police reported crimes for the year. http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2013/07/12/peterborough-had-highest-rate-of-reported-hate-crimes-among-cities-in-canada-in-2011-statistics-canada   Statistics Canada site: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130711/dq130711a-eng.htm

 Kitchener Waterloo Record – Greg Mercer
Brain-damaged man gets seven-year sentence for robbery spree

Admittedly brain damaged from an auto accident involving the deaths of two passengers, and suffering from mental illness and addiction, David Muir has spent a lot of the time since 2010 in segregation in prison with 82 violent incidents in the prison since 2011.  Said Justice Broad “Muir’s behaviour is clearly aggravated by his mental illness, and acknowledged that prison is a severe environment for him.”  The case seems to raise the question not only of treatment of mental illness but also alternatives to a prison scene perhaps aggravating the treatment.  Is prison the place for such a person? http://www.therecord.com/news-story/3891170-brain-damaged-man-gets-seven-year-sentence-for-robbery-spree 

The Guardian (UK) – Deborah Orr    
Is domestic violence a private matter because there’s no CCTV at home? 

 The UK has been well into the use of Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras for surveillance of public places.  An estimate says that there are between 5 and 6 million cameras in England.  The article looks at the experience and comments on the reaction of citizens as well as speculates on the future of CCTV.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/13/domestic-violence-private-matter-cctv

 Science Daily (UK)
Gang Members Found to Suffer Unprecedented Levels of Psychiatric Illness

 There seems to be little scientific inquiry into what psychiatric factors are in play with gang behaviour, outside drug addiction. The National Institute for Health Research and researches from Queen Mary University of London surveyed 4664 men in areas with heavy concentration of gang membership, lower income areas and areas with highly diverse ethnic mix.  Responses allowed division into gang members, violent men and non-violent men. Gang members and violent men both tended to be younger and are significantly more likely to suffer mental illness.  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130712084627.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29   Related article:  Healthline News – Brian Krans  Gang Members Hit With High Levels of Mental Illness  http://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-gang-members-suffer-from-high-rates-of-mental-illness-071213 

 Psychiatry on line
Costs of Criminal Justice Involvement Among Persons With Serious Mental Illness in Connecticut

 The link is to an abstract for a study which concludes that justice involved persons costs are twice the costs of psychiatric treatment for those outside the justice system, a stat that many have suspected for some time.  Membership required for access to the full study.  http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=1668301

 Thinkprogress – Kumar Ramanathan
LGBT Youth Face High Levels Of Cyberbullying 

LBGT youth are about three times more likely to experience cyberbullying on line than their straight counterparts.  But likewise, they are more consistent and more frequent users of line resources and more frequent advocates on line.    http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/07/11/2283881/study-lgbt-cyberbulling/?mobile=nc   Study by GLSEN:  http://www.glsen.org/press/study-finds-lgbt-youth-face-greater-harassment-online

USA Today – Donna Leinwand Leger
Feds seek lesser sentences for some drug crimes

 The growing prison populations have been repeatedly traced to extended sentences – mandatory minimums – for minor drug crime and to an insistence on imprisoning undocumented immigrants.  The costs are now driving a revision of the practices, if not the wisdom and justice of such hard-on-crime stances.  A light crack in the wall?   http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/11/justice-department-wants-changes-to-mandatory-sentences/2509893    Related article: Huffington Post – Saki Knafo and Ryan J. Reilly   DOJ Says Soaring Prison Costs Hurt Criminal Justice System, Calls For Sentencing Reform http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/federal-sentencing-reform_n_3581546.html?utm_hp_ref=politics Related article: ACLU Blogger Alex Stamm  Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration: Weekly Highlights  http://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/breaking-addiction-incarceration-weekly-highlights-43

 Mennonite World Review – Brian Gumm
The anarchist genius of restorative justice? 

 The article is a reflective piece on the historic roots of RJ in the Anabaptist-Mennonite suspicion of and disinterestedness of the state involvement in justice issues.  Gumm thinks we have come full circle in thinking that RJ practices are far a more humane response to crime than the state approach. Goodness!  What if he is right?  http://www.mennoworld.org/blog/2013/7/12/anarchist-genius-restorative-justice  

 The Independent (UK) – Ally Fogg
Immigration, crime, benefits: Everything you know about the state of the nation is wrong

 Noting that politicians and media are often the scapegoats for misleading the general public about all sorts of issues, Fogg insists that the problem of a misinformed public (following the report of the Royal Statistical Society)  is one of omission as more than lying.  The greater fault is in what is left out of reports and comments, and what is lacking is education in media analysis and political science. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/immigration-crime-benefits-everything-you-know-about-the-state-of-the-nation-is-wrong-8697574.html 

 AZ Central.com    Craig Harris
Arizona inmates find purpose training mustangs at Florence state prison 

 About 5% of Arizona’s prison inmates have a job.  These inmates must meet certain criteria around their custody history.  Then, the inmates can learn a trade and contribute to the state’s bottom line.  Wild mustangs caught on the Bureau of Land Management property are brought to the prison where they are cared for and saddle broken for sale.  Inmates are only paid 50 cents an hour but most will say they would do it for nothing. http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/20130712arizona-inmates-mustang-training-florence.html?source=nletter-&nclick_check=1