Nov 6, 2023 – Finally, public health…
Human Rights Law Centre (Australia) –
Public intoxication to finally be decriminalised
“From next week, people in Victoria who are identified as intoxicated in public will be supported to go to a safe place, like a sobering up centre, instead of being locked in a police cell under criminal or civil police powers.” The move seems so filled with common sense but is also elusive in most places. In Australia, the decriminalization of public drunkenness followed a request to expand the powers of police to arrest and detain those found to be drunk in public but to see to their placement in a safe alternative such as a sobering up centre. Public drunkenness is now a matter of public health, and not criminal in Victoria. The change took over 30 years of advocacy by the Aboriginal community. Said Nerita Waight, CEO at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service: “This reform is about shifting community perceptions of public intoxication from a criminal issue to a health issue. It is essential that the Victorian Government supports the reform process through a widespread community awareness campaign.” https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2023/11/3/public-intoxication-decriminalised Related article: Globe and Mail – Ann Dowsett Johnston Amplify: Sounding the alcohol alarm, 10 years on https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-amplify-sounding-the-alcohol-alarm-10-years-on/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Amplify&utm_content=2023-11-4_9&utm_term=Amplify%3A%20Sounding%20the%20alcohol%20alarm%2C%2010%20years%20on&utm_campaign=newsletter&cu_id=pARaxHa5z449Fu5kr3Vu1zqsV1%2FQ8Cxe Related article: PBS News (US) – Ali Rogin, Andrew Corkery, Claire Mufson Why prescription medication to treat alcoholism is ‘vastly underutilized’ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-prescription-medication-to-treat-alcoholism-is-vastly-underutilized
Toronto Star – The Kids aren’t alright series… Edward Keenan and Jennifer Pagliaro
Kids and violence: catching up with ‘the boy who lived’ – As our shooting victims are getting younger, a Toronto Star reporter talked to one of the youngest.
The link brings access to a 22 minute podcast by the Star and two veteran reporters who wonder what the impact on one of the youngest victims of violence has been later in life and what that impact says to others. The discussion is focused on violence and youth and on the Danzig shooting from 10 years ago in which Devontae, the survivor from age 22 months, suffered a shot grazing his head. https://www.thestar.com/podcasts/this-matters/kids-and-violence-catching-up-with-the-boy-who-lived/article_64c9a421-2848-5ea2-9b37-fa438c14ae89.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a11&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=404CAADEF7EB839FC77B1B04F0C251E1&utm_campaign=top_203281
The Monthly.com (Australia) – Rachel Withers
An open letter – Statement for our people and country
The link is to a commentary on a report from the Australian efforts to insert Aboriginal People in government decision-making: The referendum failed with 39% of voters approving while advocates consider this first national test a success. Advocates have observed a week of silence with flags at half-mast and promise to continue the effort. https://www.themonthly.com.au/the-politics/rachel-withers/2023/10/23/open-letter?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Politics%20%20Monday%2023%20October%202023&utm_content=The%20Politics%20%20Monday%2023%20October%202023+CID_8515ab462646dbf92318720cbe8da23e&utm_source=EDM&utm_term=Read%20on%20free&cid=8515ab462646dbf92318720cbe8da23e Full letter: https://ugc.production.linktr.ee/2e09849a-25e6-4743-8317-e33dfb437728_Statement-for-our-People-and-Country.pdf
CBC Fifth Estate
Whose police? RCMP unit acts as a private security force, critics say
The fight over land in BC between the Indigenous leaders and a special unit of the RCMP whom advocates and observers say is an instrument for pipeline assertions for big corporations as opposed to any neutral position in the dispute. “A controversial RCMP unit in B.C. acts as a de facto private security force for resource companies, and not for public safety, according to critics and many Indigenous communities. The Fifth Estate’s Steven D’Souza uncovers leaked documents that show how industry leaders influenced RCMP bosses who are part of the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG).” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQO2RIytszY (A 42 minute YouTube video.)
The Correctional Investigator’s 50th Anniversary of the Report to Parliament
Ivan Zinger Office of the Correctional Investigator Annual Report 2022-2023 https://oci-bec.gc.ca/en/content/office-correctional-investigator-annual-report-2022-2023 Related announcement from Corrections Canada on Aboriginal Incarceration: “Building a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples and expanding culturally responsive approaches to Indigenous corrections, are the foundations of our correctional system.” (Cf link for remaining five parts of their announcement.) https://x.com/CSC_SCC_en/status/1720493168179712396?s=20 Related article: Correctional Services Canada – Commissioner Anne Kelly Correctional Service of Canada Responds to Correctional Investigator’s 2022-2023 Annual Report https://www.canada.ca/en/correctional-service/news/2023/11/correctional-service-of-canada-responds-to-correctional-investigators-2022-2023-annual-report.html Related article: Toronto Star: Harry Laforme and Kent Roach Canada is failing the wrongfully convicted, again – Those who have suffered miscarriages of justice have waited too long for half-measures. Unfortunately, a government bill before Parliament does just that. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/canada-is-failing-the-wrongfully-convicted-again/article_6e7ebf1a-c32b-50b7-8a89-6865f424b8dc.html Related tweet from Kim Pate on Indigenous women: “Canada is failing the wrongfully convicted, again… and especially when it comes to indigenous women.” https://x.com/KPateontheHill/status/1721204288502841502?s=20
The Marshall Project – Life Inside – Michael Shane Hale
Prison Is a Dangerous Place for LGBTQ+ People. I Made a Safe Space in the Library. As a queer teen, Michael Shane Hale found belonging in books. Here’s how he built a place where everyone can read in peace in prison.
Hale’s trauma goes back to being thrown out of the house at age 16 by his mother for having Playgirl Magazine in his room. Hale, who killed his adult abuser, was sentenced to 50 years in prison at age 23. Hale earned several university degrees and later re-designed the prison library and made it into a safe place for the LGBTQ+ population: “And because queer people have a way of finding spaces that resonate with us, word has spread. Everyone knows that our library has a spot off by itself, waiting to hug the next LGBTQ+ person with stories of acceptance and belonging.” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/11/03/prison-library-design-fighting-homophobia-lgbtq
Vera Institute (US): Erica Bryant Justice Reform 101: What to Read, Watch, and Listen To https://www.vera.org/news/justice-reform-101?ms=email_110323_e1_eng_b&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email_110323_e1_eng_b&emci=22f9d2e3-1f74-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&emdi=76e4f8ac-597a-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&ceid=82378 (A downloadable compendium of resources on US criminal legal issues, includes video resources and podcasts.)