Aug. 15, 2013
Truro Daily News
Provincial action plan addressing bullying, cyberbullying
Though first launched in February 2013, the province is starting the new school year with a conference featuring a series of 42 individual workshops later this week. The conference seeks to draw together players from across the spectrum, hoping to draw together all those concerned about cyberbullying for practical implementation of Nova Scotia’s new law approached from a RJ perspective. 89 pilot projects start in September and a five year plan is on the agenda. http://www.trurodaily.com/News/Local/2013-08-14/article-3350356/Provincial-action-plan-addressing-bullying,-cyberbullying/1 Speak up! Action Plan Website: http://antibullying.novascotia.ca/action-plan
Canada.com – Douglas Quan, Postmedia News
Public safety and corrections officials at odds over jobs-training program for inmates, records reveal
The issue seems to be the ability of Corcan, the CSC agency charged with the training, to deliver on training programs for real jobs. Public Safety has suggested the training is for yesterday’s jobs, not for the future, in spite of efforts to align the job market and the training. Criminal records, and the changes to the pardon process, make actual job placement all the more difficult for areas of significant job growth – education and health care. But CSC says that the focus has been on training for jobs in manufacturing, construction and food services.http://www.canada.com/Public+safety+corrections+officials+odds+over+jobs+training+program+inmates+records+reveal/8784839/story.html
Herald – Mail.com (Hagerstown, MD) – Brien Poffenberger
Crime is an economic development issue
The Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed a new police chief – Mark Holtzman – who tackled crime as a factor that establishes trends within the business community. Holtzman suggests a ‘broken window theory’ of community disintegration leads to a flight of both business and customers. http://www.herald-mail.com/opinion/hm-brien-poffenberger-crime-is-an-economic-development-issue-20130813,0,1247973.story
Global TV News – John Daly
A new form of restorative justice for First Nations in Kamloops
Operating for the past five months, the court includes a panel of elders to advise the sentencing judge on appropriate RJ decisions. The report recognizes that the Gladue Decision of the Supreme Court in 1999 requiring the sentence take into consideration the unique circumstances of the Aboriginal people. http://globalnews.ca/news/779013/watch-a-new-form-of-restorative-justice-for-first-nations-in-kamloops
Huffington Post – Jesse Lava
On Criminal Justice, Smart Is the New Dumb
Reflecting on the recent reversal by US Attorney General Holder, Lawa says that this week has been a considerable week for victories against the tough-on-crime approach. He lists, beside Holder’s speech, a victory against high prison telephone rates and the federal court ruling that stop-and-frisk is unconstitutional. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesse-lava/on-criminal-justice-smart_b_3753516.html
Huffington Post – Nick Wing
Here Are All Of The Nations That Incarcerate More Of Their Population Than The U.S.
Guess what? There are no nations that imprison more of their citizens that the US! This article is a good backgrounder for understanding the numbers involved in the recent decisions in the US to abandon the mandatory minimums. If you include local jails, there are over two million incarcerated for 25% of the world’s total number in jail.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/incarceration-rate-per-capita_n_3745291.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular International Center for Prison Study: World listing of population rates http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/wpb_stats.php?area=all&category=wb_poprate
Huffington Post – Katherine Gustofson
To Keep Kids Out of Trouble — and Prison — Teach Them to Understand Their Emotions
Practioners of RJ in the schools have noticed that some kids engaged in RJ process have a great difficulty expressing themselves emotionally. Social and emotional learning (SEL) problems may contribute to suspensions, especially in iron hard rules environment. The student centered approaches of RJ and SEL teaches kids to enlist the offender as the engineer in the solution. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-gustafson/social-and-emotional-learning_b_3596344.html