March 6, 2013
Lancashire Telegraph
Restorative justice a big success, say police
Police themselves are hailing the effectiveness of RJ practices in Manchester for reducing re-offending and by suggesting that for every £1 spent on RJ they are saving £9. http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/10266650.Restorative_justice_a_big_success__say_police
CBC News – Thunder Bay
Restorative justice proposed for human rights system
Dave Shannon is a Thunder Bay lawyer, a human rights expert, and director of the Nova Scotia Human Rights commission. He thinks the coming spring review of Ontario Human Rights should incorporate restorative justice practices. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2012/04/05/tby-restorative-justice.html
Plymouth Herald (UK) – Sam Blackledge
Thousands avoid criminal records in Plymouth by ‘making amends’
In Plymouth, the number of offenders who avoided a criminal record by making amends for their offenses has gone up by a factor of three in the last five years. Offenses have included assaults, burglary, harassment and sexual offences. http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Thousands-avoid-criminal-records-Plymouth-making/story-17790226-detail/story.html?utm_source=RJC+Members&utm_campaign=5168778aad-RJC_Members_Bulletin2_01_2013&utm_medium=email#ixzz2Mfvfgsm1
Business Week: Elizabeth Dwoskin
Why Letting Illegal Immigrants Out of Jail Makes Sense
Here’s the business case for the furor in the US about releasing immigration detainees because of the costs involved. The total cost of immigration enforcement since 2009 is $73 billion. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-05/why-letting-illegal-immigrants-out-of-jail-makes-sense
Human Rights First (US) – Fact sheet on immigration
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/Immigration_Detention_FactSheet_March2013.pdf
MSNBC – Kailani Koenig-Muenster
The left’s austerity strategy for the death penalty
Maryland state has just marginally defeated the legislation to end the death penalty. Governor O’Malley had mostly used moral argument and is now turning to financial argument in a bid to return to the effort to abolish the death penalty. This article takes the costs incurred since 1978 in California to practice the death penalty. http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/03/03/the-lefts-austerity-strategy-for-the-death-penalty
Science Codex – British Medical Journal
People with mental illness at highly increased risk of being murder victims
This focus around mental health is very unusual since the usual study involves the mentally ill who commit crime. A Swedish / American study of over 7 million has concluded that the mentally ill are five times more likely than the general population to be a victim of homicide. Add substance abuse to the mix and the rate goes to nine. http://www.sciencecodex.com/people_with_mental_illness_at_highly_increased_risk_of_being_murder_victims-107996
Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP) Ottawa, April 3, 2013
Call out for participants
Don Wadel of Ottawa John Howard Society wants to invite participants of all kinds to a session on the impact of the changes in the pardon process. Join them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CPEPgroup