Nov. 20, 2022
Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
Progress and Prejudices – Shifts in the UK employers’ attitude in hiring people with convictions
“Employers more likely to hire people with convictions.” This piece of research makes it at least hopeful that the same is happening in Canada: “We commissioned this market research into employer attitudes towards hiring people with convictions because previous research, notably in 2010 and 2016, showed the worrying extent of employer prejudice against people with convictions. We wanted to know whether things were getting better, and to understand what was deterring employers from hiring people with convictions. Understanding the assumptions and perspectives of employers helps us and others to work alongside them. We can then improve knowledge of why diverse recruiting practices – that include people with convictions – benefit organisations.” https://www.russellwebster.com/employers-more-likely-to-hire-people-with-convictions/ Full report: Progress and Prejudices https://workingchance.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/documents/Progress__Prejudice_Shifts_in_UK_employer_attitudes_to_hiring_people_with_convictions.pdf
Restorative Justice Week – Nov. 20, 2022
Global RJ Week 2022: Interviews, Micro Trainings & Impact Spaces
“A week-long celebration of the growing restorative justice movement along with deep dives into key edge areas with speakers, micro trainings and impact spaces–featuring global and diverse guest presenters and your hosts at RJ on The Rise, Talking Peace & Friends. Not US/North American based but an opportunity to hear from people worldwide.” https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ejfryvm3b8b9cd6b&oseq=&c=&ch=
Restorative Justice on The Rise
Restorative Justice on The Rise & Co Host Talking Peace
719-937-7771
rjonrise@gmail.com
CSC Citizen Advisory Committee, Metro Van West –
Tue, November 29, 2022, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM PST (3PM Eastern)
Public Safety through Support and Accountability – A free webinar about community reintegration programs for specific groups of offenders and their families
“Most people serving a prison sentence will eventually return to the community. To prevent re-offending, they must have supports so they can successfully reintegrate. This webinar will explore community-based supports for two groups of offenders: those with a life sentence (“lifers”) and those who have been convicted of a sexual offence.” https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-safety-through-support-and-accountability-tickets-461625252557 Related article: Press Progress (Canada) – Rumneek Johal and Stephen Magusiak Police Across Canada Are Hiring a Tech Company to Justify Bigger Budgets and Belittle Social Services – Helpseeker, a Calgary-based ‘social impact’ firm, has been hired to produce reports for police in Edmonton, Vancouver and Ottawa https://pressprogress.ca/police-across-canada-are-hiring-a-tech-company-to-justify-bigger-budgets-and-belittle-social-services/
London Free Press (Canada) – Randy Richmond
‘He suffered and died alone’: Partner seeks answers in jail inmate’s death
Jamie Briggs was aged 44 and there are serious questions around what happened to him between his arrest and his death in custody at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre. Both his lawyer and his partner were told that he was too ill and unable to come to court or even the phone, yet he was not transferred to hospital or medical care. “His arrest and death raise questions about how police, hospital and jail officials handled the incident that brought him to the notorious EMDC, where 21 inmates have died since 2009, 19 of them in the last nine years.” https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/he-suffered-and-died-alone-partner-seeks-answers-in-jail-inmates-death
Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
Criminal justice trends November 2022
Besides the statistical trends the data offers a chance to assess the impact of Covid on the criminal legal system’s operations. Placing the crimes at 6.47 million incidents with 1.35 million persons implicated, the report says that there were “55,742 immediate custodial sentences (about 4.15%), 68,207 community sentences and 38,700 suspended sentences.” The numbers are down from pre-covid levels but some types of crime are up over the past year but note also that the combined community sentences and suspended sentences are almost three times (12.6%) the prison sentences. https://www.russellwebster.com/criminal-justice-trends-november-2022/ Full report: (downloadable PDF) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-june-2022/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-june-2022-html
Vera Institute (US) – Aaron Stagoff-Belford, Daniel Bodah, Daniela Gilbert
The Social Costs of Policing
This report from a very reputable researcher is also very a propos for Canada in the light of the current atmosphere around policing in Vancouver, Surrey, Winnipeg, Ottawa and other places where the cost benefit approach to budgeting is increasingly unreliable and accompanied by problematic outcomes. “When measuring the effect that policing has on public safety, we must include the social costs of policing that make communities less healthy and prosperous. These social costs include damage to the health of individuals and communities, suppression of educational achievement, harm to economic security, and reductions in civic participation and community engagement.” https://www.vera.org/publications/the-social-costs-of-policing Related article: The Marshall Project (US) – Jamiles Lartey Policing the Police: A Week of Racism, Abuse and Misconduct – Federal civil rights investigations can examine an entire agency — but they are not the only way to check for police misconduct. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/11/19/policing-the-police-a-week-of-racism-abuse-and-misconduct Related article: The Toronto Star – Rosie DiManno The Gordian knot of blue-on-blue justice – Columnist Rosie DiManno follows the bouncing ball backwards on a police perjury case that leads back to a bathroom break and an attempted murder involving two Niagara police officers. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2022/11/17/the-gordian-knot-of-blue-on-blue-justice.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a08&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=404CAADEF7EB839FC77B1B04F0C251E1&utm_campaign=top_154668
Tweet from the Martin Luther King Center: MLK Sunday “We see men as Jews or Gentiles, Catholics or Protestants, Chinese or American, Negroes or whites. We fail to see them as fellow human beings made out of the same basic stuff as we are, molded by the same divine image.” https://twitter.com/TheKingCenter/status/1594355877724983298?s=03 Related article: The Appeal (US) – Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Internal Report Details Severely Malnourished Detainees at Atlanta-Area Jail – The facility’s medical provider described people with mental illness wasting away in a unit overrun by an outbreak of lice and scabies https://theappeal.org/fulton-county-jail-report-malnourished-detainees/ Related Tweet from Mano Raju (US): “Conditions at the SF County Jails remain a humanitarian crisis for community members experiencing isolating lockdowns, limited programs & treatment, & scant visitation. Now the jail is doling out Vitamin D supplements b/c people who are caged there barely see the light of day.” https://twitter.com/ManoRajuPD/status/1593360378242531328?s=03 Related article: San Francisco Standard – Jonathan Owen Lamb SF Jail Inmates Get So Little Sunlight They’re Prescribed Vitamin D Supplements https://sfstandard.com/criminal-justice/sf-jail-inmates-get-so-little-sunlight-theyre-prescribed-vitamin-d-supplements/
Tweet from Angie Bergman ON LWOP for Youth “WE WON! After years of litigation, arguing *twice* at the Tennessee Supreme Court, mandatory death in prison sentences for juveniles in Tennessee are held to violate the Eighth Amendment!” (CF thread) https://twitter.com/AngieLBergman/status/1593642252798148608?s=03 Related article: The Hill (US) Emily Galvin-Almanza It’s time to make smarter choices on small crimes https://thehill.com/criminal-justice/3743225-its-time-to-make-smarter-choices-on-small-crimes/
Council on Criminal Justice (US)
The Impact of De-escalation Training on Police Use of Force in Louisville, KY
With the threat of defunding consequent to police shootings and misconduct, 29 states across the US now require de-escalation training of law enforcement. “Proponents applaud this widespread use, arguing that de-escalation training provides officers with better skills to resolve conflicts in difficult situations without the use of force. Opponents express concern that these tactics may place officers and the public in greater danger. Without rigorous studies designed to analyze the impact of de-escalation training on police behavior, as well as officer and civilian safety, such debates have persisted.” The results are in: “In divisions that received the training, use of force against civilians declined by 28.1%, police injuries dropped by 36%, and civilian injuries decreased by 26.3%. Taken together, these results suggest that de-escalation training benefits all parties involved in police-civilian interactions.” https://counciloncj.org/the-impact-of-de-escalation-training-on-police-use-of-force-in-louisville-ky/
Tweet from Morgan Godvin (US): Pregnancy in prison “I was in prison with moms who didn’t have anyone to care for their kids during their sentence. Their parental rights were permanently revoked, which is the most cruel and permanent collateral consequence that exists.” https://twitter.com/MorganGodvin/status/1594025410303778816?s=03
Tweet from Eric Reinhart (US): Pregnant Holmes going to prison “Many people are expressing concern about the fact that Elizabeth Holmes’ 11-year prison term is set to begin while she is pregnant. They are right to be concerned, and they should be for thousands of other pregnant people too. A thread on pregnancy behind bars.” https://twitter.com/_Eric_Reinhart/status/1594002333234786306?s=03