Victim surcharge…

  Aug. 3, 2014

 Ottawa Citizen – Andrew Seymour
Prominent Ottawa judge strikes down mandatory victim surcharge 

Ontario Court Justice David Paciocco has declared $900 in mandatory victim surcharge fines against Inuit Shaun Michael unconstitutional and  “so grossly disproportionate that it would outrage the standards of decency.”   Paciocco found the surcharge amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.   http://www.canada.com/News/ottawa/Prominent+Ottawa+judge+strikes+down+national+newswatch+mandatory+victim+surcharge/10080981/story.html

 Star Phoenix – Charles Hamilton
Girl Gangsters: Why are more and more young women joining up? 

Saskatoon has seen an increase in girls gang members and can now boast of at least one all girl gang.  Faith Eagle, who managed to survive a long time gang involvement now sees her daughter follow the gang life.  “Now that Eagle has left that life behind, she watches in pain as her daughter adopts the gang lifestyle.  “I see her following in my footsteps. She knows what I did,” Eagle said.”    http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Girl+Gangsters+more+more+young+women+joining/10084113/story.html

 Toledo Blade (US) – Keith C. Burris
Group offers visionary way to fight gangs 

Toledo has a new approach to gang violence.  The group, Toledo Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, led by Sgt. Anita Madison of the Toledo police, aims at stopping violence between gangs, not eliminating gangs.  It involves three steps: a targeting of a specific small gang group, call in, and community involvement.   http://www.toledoblade.com/Keith-Burris/2014/08/01/Group-offers-visionary-way-to-fight-gangs.html#P2BdypefrICT87W3.99

  Star-on-line (Malaysia)
Income disparity is a disease 

Income disparity in a market economy is certain failure.  If the disparity is blatant enough – as in China – then no one in the general population has money to buy the goods.  China’s communist and socialist politics suggest that wealth is spread around but in fact, in China, 25% of the bottom level of population own only 1% of the wealth.   “Such income disparity is not socially, politically and economically sustainable.”    http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Community/2014/08/03/Income-disparity-is-a-disease   Related article:   New Delhi Times – Editorial  Widening Income Inequalities    http://www.newdelhitimes.com/widening-income-inequalities123

 L.A. Times – Paige St. John
California adopts new policies on treatment of mentally ill inmates 

One in three inmates are mentally ill and court ordered fixes to the lack of treatment have begun to appear.  A court appointed special master and lawyers have negotiated a set of protocols to avoid what the prison industry calls “pain compliance.”  The new guidelines require corrections officers to assess the psychiatric state of an inmate before the use of force is permissible.  State lawyers say the goal “is to systemically improve [the California prison system’s] practice and culture regarding both when and how force is used.”  http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-ff-0803-prisons-mentally-ill-20140803-story.html   Related article:  Solitary Watch (US)  – Lisa Dawson     Videos Show Brutal Treatment of Prisoners with Mental Illness    http://solitarywatch.com/2014/08/01/videos-show-brutal-treatment-of-prisoners-with-mental-illness    Related article: Seattle Post Intelligencer    Don Thompson, Associated Press   California prisons alter treatment of mentally ill      http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/California-prisons-change-mental-health-treatment-5663610.php   Related article: Free Essay    Persons with mental illnesses and the criminal justice system    http://www.essaymarketplace.com/essay-persons-mental-illnesses-criminal-justice-system

 The Desert Sun (Indio, CA)  – Editorial
Our Voice: Research-based police work is a smart strategy  

Benefiting from the Smart Policing Initiative and some federal grant money, Indio police learned about a connection between truancy and break-ins and traced the pattern for the break-ins according to the pattern of truancy across the school system.  Follow-up on the truancy resulted in a 47% drop in break-ins.   http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/2014/07/31/research-based-police-work-smart-strategy/13439881