Feb. 25, 2014
University of Toronto – Anthony Doob, Rosemary Gartner; University of Ottawa – Cheryl Marie Webster
Three research summary documents…
Here, to compliment our focus on evidence based guidance, are three articles from Anthony Doob and his team of researchers at the University of Toronto assessing the current research on the impact of harsh sentences. In each case, the document consists of two parts. The first part is a relatively short summary of the Criminological Highlights research summaries which are then gathered together for easy reading in the second part.
Article one: Issues related to Harsh Sentences and Mandatory Minimum Sentences: General Deterrence and Incapacitation
Research Summaries Compiled from Criminological Highlights
Is more frequent jail and for longer sentences – a tough-on-crime approach – an effective deterrent to more crime. Does going to jail for longer prevent crime and make Canadians safer? What are the issues around the popular belief in harsh sentences? http://criminology.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DWG-EffectsImprisonmentHighlights14Feb2013.pdf
Article two: The Effects of Imprisonment: Specific Deterrence and Collateral Effects: Research Summaries Compiled from Criminological Highlights
Does a harsh sentence create deterrence and prevent more crime? Is it possible to deter crime through sentencing? Is public perception the real issue in this opinion? What are the attending side effects of harsher imprisonment on spouses, families and the broader society? http://criminology.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DWG-EffectsImprisonmentHighlights14Feb2013.pdf
Article three: Some Recent Research on Sex Offenders and Society’s Responses to Them: Research Summaries Compiled from Criminological Highlights
Is once a sex offender, always a sex offender accurate? What is the usefulness of registration / notification programs? What are the implications for having sex offenders serve the full sentence? What is the actual recidivism rate and how effective is treatment? http://criminology.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/CrimHighlights_SexOffending11.pdf
University of Toronto Criminology Department: The latest Criminal Highlights (Newsletter) has a bunch of interesting articles for prompting thoughtful reflections. http://www.criminology.utoronto.ca/lib/CrimHighlightsV13N6.pdf
National Symposium: Policing and Community Partnerships
Molly Baldwin of Roca Inc…
Want to know if your organization would fit in a scheme to finance using Pay-for-Success methods? See the Rockfeller Foundation Case Study, p. 12ff (34 page downloadable pdf) http://www.rocainc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/ThirdSector_Roca_PreparingforPayforSuccessinMA.pdf
CBC News – Michael Enright
Innocent until Proven Guilty – Except on Remand
Calling remand in Canada both a national and an international disgrace, Enright says that the detention conditions are harsh and mostly in maximum security facilities. Together with the mental illness and lack of treatment, the collateral effects make a dismal picture even more severe on those who have not even been convicted of anything. http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/essays/2014/02/23/innocent-until-proven-guilty—not-on-remand
N. Y. Times – Editorial – Feb. 23, 2014
Locked Away in Immigration Jails
The Times offers a status report on the actions of federal courts all over the US to deal with immigration cases involving long term detention without any hearing. A California federal court has ruled that detention excess of six months is “unreasonable” and other courts are taking up that criteria in confronting delays. The Times is calling for President Obama to insist that the six months become national policy. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/opinion/locked-away-in-immigration-jails.html?_r=0
Guardian (UK) – Michael Safi
‘Light the dark’ vigils across Australia following asylum seeker’s death
An Iranian man, Reza Barati, died in immigration detention and provoked a protest across Australia against the government’s heavy handed effort to stem the flow of immigrants and refuges. (The Human Rights Commission is also investigating the detention of over 4,000 children.) The candles were intended to stress that the 15,000 protestors were most upset that the government has closed out the light around what happens inside these detention facilities. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/24/light-the-dark-vigils-across-australia-following-asylum-seekers-death
ValueWalks – John Mauldin
The Worst Ten-Letter Word
Mauldin means inequality and offers an analysis of the issue of wages and productivity in generating the inequality, suggesting that the inequality will be around long after normalization of the cyclical downturn and the budget deficits. Mauldin thinks that the term is used to create and justify social change without reference to the productivity norm for income.http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/02/income-inequality-john-mauldin