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| NEWS of the Day - June 17, 2011 |
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on some issues of interest to the community policing and neighborhood activist across the country
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following group of articles from local newspapers and other sources constitutes but a small percentage of the information available to the community policing and neighborhood activist public. It is by no means meant to cover every possible issue of interest, nor is it meant to convey any particular point of view ...
We present this simply as a convenience to our readership ... |
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From Los Angeles Times
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Supreme Court says age matters in police questioning
by David G. Savage, Washington Bureau
Jun 16, 2011
Reporting from Washington -- The Supreme Court bolstered the rights of juveniles for the second year in a row, deciding by a 5-4 vote that police officers who remove a student from class for questioning about a crime usually must warn him or her of the right to remain silent.
The decision Thursday did not set a strict rule for all cases involving police questioning of minors, but the justices said young people deserved extra protection because they would feel they had no choice but to answer.
"It is beyond dispute that children will often feel bound to submit to police questioning when an adult in the same circumstance would feel free to leave," wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor. "Seeing no reason for police officers or courts to blind themselves to that common-sense reality, we hold that a child's age properly informs the Miranda custody analysis."
The decision reopens the case of a 13-year-old student from Chapel Hill, N.C., who was taken from his seventh-grade class by a police officer and questioned about several burglaries in his neighborhood. The student, identified only as J.D.B., eventually confessed.
He later contended his confession should not have been used because he was not warned of his rights. But he lost in a 4-3 decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court, which said the age of the suspect did not matter.
The famous 1966 Miranda decision that required warning suspects about their rights applies only to people who are in the custody of police and would feel forced to answer questions. At issue in the case was whether a 13-year-old at school would think he was required to speak to police, or instead would understand that he was "free to leave" and could walk away from the interview.
Sotomayor said age is a crucial factor, and suggests the student would feel he is in the control of the police. "The custody analysis would be nonsensical absent some consideration of the suspect's age," she said. If a suspect is seen to be in police custody, officers must warn him or her of the right to refuse to answer questions and of the option to consult a lawyer.
The Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia called the ruling a "landmark decision [to] protect Miranda rights for youth." It "further demonstrates the Supreme Court's recognition that 'kids are different' under the Constitution," the group said.
Last year, the high court outlawed the imposing of a life term in prison without parole for juveniles who commit crimes short of murder.
The decision in J.D.B. vs. North Carolina sends the case back for judges to reconsider whether the student was in police control when he was questioned. Joining Sotomayor in the majority were Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Elena Kagan.
The four dissenters said the focus on the age of the individual would be confusing for police and judges.
http://mobile.latimes.com/p.p?m=b&a=rp&id=424794&postId=424794&postUserId=7&session
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From Economic Policy Journal
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Former NYPD/LAPD Chief Warns Crime Could Worsen Nationwide
June 15, 2011
A combination of tight budgets at municipal and state government levels plus "poorly socialized youth" (LBJ's Great Grandkids) could result in the reversal of the downtrend in crime across the country over the last 20 years, says William Bratton, who is the only person to have ever led the two largest police forces in the U.S., NYPD and LAPD. He is currently vice chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, and chairman of Kroll, a leading risk-consulting firm.
Freakonomics asked Bratton to comment on the current crime situation and he wrote:
Extended and severe downturns that engender long-term unemployment rates of 15 or 20 percent in poor and minority communities can have criminogenic effects, not only because they foreclose economic opportunities, but also because they perpetuate an underclass culture that fails to educate and socialize young men. As these young men grow, they become the foot soldiers for crime of all kinds, including drug dealing, robberies, burglaries, auto theft, and other larcenies, as well as targeted and random shootings in the public square.
Such extended downturns are also likely to cause revenue shortfalls at the state and local levels that may result in sharp cuts to policing and other government services, as is already happening now...
If the police are disabled in this way just as a larger pool of crime-prone youth comes on the scene, you might see a repeat nationwide of the circumstances that drove crime in New York City in the late 1970s and 1980s. Disabled significantly by the New York City fiscal crisis and subsequent layoffs of police personnel, the NYPD failed to contend with the emerging crack epidemic of the early 1980s, and violent crime surged. With these dual factors – poorly socialized youth and weakened police departments – simultaneously at work, the long-term outlook for crime could worsen significantly, and the positive crime trends of the past 20 years could be reversed. |
What's going to happen is that the private sector will more and more seek out and use private sector alternatives to make up for the lack of protection provided by government police forces. This will mean most new crime will be in the government controlled areas such as subways and sidewalks. The Age of Wilding may be upon us. http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/06/former-nypdlapd-chief-warns-crime-could.html
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From LA Daily News
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City Councilman Paul Krekorian advocates neighborhood panel reforms
by Rick Orlov, Staff Writer
June
16, 2011
Capping an 18-month study, City Councilman Paul Krekorian on Wednesday proposed a series of reforms to update the city's management of neighborhood councils.
"This was an unprecedented study to try to deal with the most common complaints we have heard about," Krekorian said, as he introduced four motions designed to deal with the problems:
Provide better training for neighborhood council board members.
Streamline the funding process to provide quicker approvals and long-term guarantees.
Restructure management of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment.
Streamline the grievance procedure. |
Krekorian said the proposals will go to the Education and Neighborhoods Committee he chairs for further development.
Al Abrams, president of the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, said he believes Krekorian has identified some of the top issues facing the organizations, but hopes for additional debate.
"The commission has placed these issues on the agenda for discussion many times over the last two years and received much public comment," Abrams said.
He noted that funding and staffing for neighborhood councils has been slashed in recent years.
Abrams said the proposals offered by Krekorian could involve increased costs to the city, but he and the commission want to discuss them.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18281913
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