March 7, 2023 – Safe places…
Global News – Michael Wrobel & Carolyn Jarvis
How one Ontario child welfare agency is fighting to fix a broken system
“When Dawn Flegel took over Sarnia’s children’s aid society in 2012, she went on a listening tour about the child-welfare system that left her feeling appalled.” What she heard from the children in care led to a decision to close all group homes and she started “Chasing Zero.” “Group homes in Ontario are mostly run by for-profit companies. They hire rotating shift workers to look after kids who’ve experienced abuse, have complex mental-health needs or, in some cases, are orphaned. It’s impossible for kids to find any sense of family or belonging in them. Under Flegel’s plan, that would no longer be an issue. Group homes would be eliminated. Kids would no longer spend years in the system. For four years now there have been no group homes in Sarnia but rather kinship placements. https://globalnews.ca/news/9525533/ontario-child-welfare-group-homes-chasing-zero/?utm_source=notification
Global News – Heather Yourex-West
Canada’s LGBTQ2S+ safe spaces are disappearing at the worst possible time –
For decades the Backlot has been a safe space where members of Calgary’s LGBTQ2S+ community could gather. When Campbell took over ownership in the mid-90s, he remembers the city was a very different place.” At the same Campbell acknowledges that “many of the city’s LGBTQ2S+ bars and clubs have disappeared.” The encroachment is happening in all major cities and is from developments, from civic efforts to re-locate the gay activity and sometimes just pure hatred. https://globalnews.ca/news/9514227/lgbtq2s-safe-spaces-disappearing/
The Conversation (Queen’s) – Sandy Jung and Jesmen Mendoza
Addressing campus sexual violence: New risk assessment tool can help administrators make difficult decisions
The authors address the concerns around sexual violence at a university or college level under an approach deemed preventative and trauma informed. For a number of reasons and experiences they suggest doing the work through a lens of safety on the whole campus. “Such increased attention has obligated institutions to devote specialized campus resources to develop policies, increase survivor support and establish programming to address the multiple forms of systemic oppression that intersect with gender-based violence.” https://theconversation.com/addressing-campus-sexual-violence-new-risk-assessment-tool-can-help-administrators-make-difficult-decisions- 99714?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%207%202023&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%207%202023+CID_b36885c8a2c8417642370a3067ca80e9&utm_source=campaign_monitor_ca&utm_term=Addressing%20campus%20sexual%20violence
CNN (US) – Rebekah Riess
Dozens detained after a construction vehicle was set ablaze and bricks were thrown at the planned ‘Cop City’ police training site in Atlanta, authorities said
The questionable use f tax payer dollars reaches new heights in a plan in Atlanta as the plan for Cop City goes ahead with actual construction and the inevitable protests. So far, 35 people arrested in the face of an anticipated $90 million expense on 85 acres as critics decry what they see as the further militarization of policing. “Police this year have launched at least two “clearing operations” at the police facility site, including one in which officers fatally shot a protester, exacerbating tensions with opponents like the “Stop Cop City” group.” https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/06/us/atlanta-cop-city-protests/index.html
Prison Policy Initiative (US) – Aleks Kajstura and Wendy Sawyer
Women’s Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2023
This report draws attention to an alarming increase in the incarceration rate for women and includes stats and graphs to illustrate the point. The report, new in March 2023, also includes youth, Indigenous people and military stats and a breakdown of the offenses involved and identifies those convicted vs those on pre-conviction detention in the prisons and jails. The report also updates on the impact of the Covid epidemic. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2023women.html Tweet from Prison Policy Initiative on Women incarceration rates: “You can tell a lot about the criminal legal system by the incarceration rates of women, who are disproportionately charged with/convicted of nonviolent offenses. Since mid-2020, after a brief drop due to Covid-related slowdowns, women’s jail populations are rocketing back up:” https://t.co/B2nT0zxld9
(https://twitter.com/PrisonPolicy/status/1631047866205478912?t=tAWmnnf7Da3EjJ5B7ET0MQ&s=03) Related webinar: The Sentencing Project (US) – Ashley Nellis Webinar: Life without Parole in the Era of Mass Incarceration (A panel discussion) March 14, 2023 at 2PM eastern Standard time. Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mJhaCZ7uSSuaD-2dAl4TwA?emci=56e99121-6db8-ed11-a8e0-00224832e811&emdi=795a3153-32bc-ed11-a8e0-00224832e811&ceid=10203385
Tweet from VERA institute of Justice (US) on Jails and prisons: “Is it ‘jail’ or ‘prison’?” Nearly 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States—far more than any other country in the world—largely in jails and prisons. The terms are often used interchangeably, but they refer to different types of facilities.” https://t.co/aSXacwgvPq https://t.co/HSMQ79ed8P
(https://twitter.com/verainstitute/status/1631022794824663043?t=5HMusahmFbCls1e4jMeVvg&s=03)
Law 360 Canada – John L. Hill
Murdaugh mysteries: How the jury decided
Despite the prominence in the media and literature, few actual criminal cases are submitted to juries. Hill uses the recent US Murdaugh trial, completely present on video, to examine the wisdom of pursuing a trail by jury. Will the jury be swayed by guilt, by the character of the defendant, by the scientific data? Would trial by judge alone have been a better option? https://www.law360.ca/criminal/articles/44714/murdaugh-mysteries-how-the-jury-decided-john-l-hill?nl_pk=40ed8ea4-637a-4d76-870f-04f0eeae7de8&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=criminal
Tweet from Alec Karakatsanis – On human caging and reducing crime: “Today marks the four-day anniversary of two of the bravest tweets of all time. While others followed scientific evidence or stayed silent if they knew literally nothing about the issue, two WaPo reporters boldly declared that a country cannot have *both* democracy and safety. (Cf string) https://t.co/vDixqo66K6
(https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1633096328258494465?t=XeWcIb-Hnfaej6X7GT-Y6Q&s=03)
Blogger Russell Webster (UK):
Deaths on remand – Prisons and Probation Ombudsman reveals that 35% of all self-inflicted deaths in 2022 were of prisoners on remand.
This is a distressing stat for the question of the safety of the incarcerated persons while awaiting trial. The source is the latest (6 March 2023) edition of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s Investigator newsletter. Adding to the distress is the realization that the numbers on remand are steadily increasing. https://www.russellwebster.com/deaths-on-remand/