Sept 5, 2016
The Tyee – Katie Hyslop
In Downtown Eastside, Jim’s Story Shows Holes in Vast Net of Systems and Services
This is a two part series on the role that housing and FASD, among other social problems, plays in the life of an Indigenous man in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Include in the problems, addictions, anger management, mental health, the justice system and the difficulty of providing services to a basically unstable person. Simon Fraser University health sciences researcher Dr. Julian Somers says it’s logistics. The series is well worth while in the face of the new federal government initiative on housing. Part 1: http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/09/01/Jims-Story-Holes-In-Downtown-Eastside-Systems/ Part 2: http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/09/02/How-to-House-Most-Vulnerable-Residents/
Victim Justice Network – Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
Do you know a woman who is being abused? A Legal Rights Handbook
This network is providing a handbook for abused women who are looking to escape the abuse. The handbook is updated for information around immigration, and offering advice about preparing to leave: safety planning, where to go; the criminal process: possible charges, the arrest, bail hearings; the criminal trial: court procedure, sentencing; protecting yourself: restraining orders, exclusive possession, peace bonds; rights under family law: children’s aid societies, custody, support; next steps: finances, social assistance, working. http://victimjusticenetwork.ca/service/762-do-you-know-a-woman-who-is-being-abused-a-legal-rights-handbook?utm_source=Victim+Justice+Network&utm_campaign=72489bbf1d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d66f530886-72489bbf1d-301904857 Handbook (124 page downloadable pdf) http://www.cleo.on.ca/sites/default/files/book_pdfs/handbook.pdf
Human Rights Watch (US) – Grace Meng
Bush Administration Gave US Supreme Court Inaccurate Immigration Data- Court’s Ensuing Ruling Allowed Prolonged Detention for Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants
This is a headline that ought to throw caution into the rants and raves around the immigration issues in the US election. What is equally unusual is the Federal Department of Justice admitting that it provided information with significant errors on which the US Supreme Court made a ruling (Demore vs Kim). The ruling allowed mandatory and indefinite detention of immigrants. “In Demore v. Kim, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a “mandatory detention” law that requires immigrants who were previously convicted of a wide range of crimes, and who have completed their sentences, if any, to be detained without bond while their deportation cases are pending. This includes green card holders.” https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/31/bush-administration-gave-us-supreme-court-inaccurate-immigration-data
Blue Line Newsweek –
Police ‘old boys’ club alive and well
So says Leslie Bikos, a Ph. D candidate at Western and former London officer, who is studying women in policing. “The paramilitary-like environment demands loyalty and discourages dissent, creating a “toxic environment” that can affect on-the-ground policing… We need to shift the way we see policing in our culture. We need officers of all skills, who are high in empathy and low on ego, who are educated before they join and continue that education as society evolves,” she says. http://blueline.ca/uploads/issue/pdf/660/BLNW_2016-09-02.pdf
Ottawa Citizen – Christie Blatchford
Prison no place for mentally ill Ottawa woman convicted of keeping teen sex slaves
Blatchford refers to the Ashley Smith case for striking similarities in the treatment of Caroline Budd, a woman in Ottawa just sentence to two years in federal prison. The evidence on the treatment of the two teenage sex slaves is undoubtedly horrendous but as Blatchford remarks: “These were serious, genuine crimes, with genuine victims. But it looks to me very much as if Caroline Budd may have been one of them…Another mentally ill kid who doesn’t belong in jail is heading their way.” http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/national/christie+blatchford+prison+place+mentally+ottawa+woman+convicted/12168417/story.html Related article: Ottawa Citizen – Gary Dimmock Ottawa woman gets prison time for using teens as sex slaves http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-woman-gets-prison-time-for-using-teens-as-sex-slaves
Criminological Highlights – U of T (Vol 16, Aug 2016)
The latest review from Professors Anthony Doob and Rosemary Gartner is now available on the web site. This issue reviews a number of salient issues: Can judges reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system? Why should Donald Trump read this ‘highlight’? How are the experience of debt and crime related? Do after-school programs for youths reduce crime? Why do juvenile drug treatment courts not seem to work? What is the most recent evidence on the effectiveness of treatment programs for sex offenders? What are the problems in implementing restorative justice programs? How well do all the ‘obvious’ explanations for the ‘crime drop’ in many western countries fit the data? http://criminology.utoronto.ca/criminological-highlights/ (You can have your own subscription to this excellent resource by contacting anthony.doob@utoronto.ca or rosemary.gartner@utoronto.ca)
Toronto Star – Jesse Winter
Native leaders slam province’s suggestion to house foster kids – Plan to use empty space in youth criminal justice facilities ‘not acceptable’
The notion of considering all options is enraging advocates for child health and safety. What about filling up our youth justice facilities with foster children? Government claims that no decision has been made but Indigenous people are on edge with even the consideration. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/09/04/native-leaders-slam-provinces-suggestion-to-house-foster-kids.html