Urban, rural areas battle for census prison populace
May 3, 2010 at 11:34 am | Posted in cities, geography, news, prison system | Leave a commentPrison are often in small rural towns, while much of the prison population originates from urban areas. The 2010 census considers the area in which inmates are incarcerated as their community of residence rather than the neighborhoods from which they originate. This increase in population for these small rural towns has significant implications for the largely white populations that reside there. The larger population count often leads to great political representation through the allotment of elected officials and increased funds for schools, roads, and infrastructure investments. Conversely, the plunge in population numbers for the urban, mostly black and Hispanic areas where many incarcerated individuals would normally be counted perpetuates the inadequate resources going to many of these communities. This raises a variety of questions for the viability of urban institutions and the resources that they have at their disposal.
View the following link for more information:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123663462
Significant policy changes create safer L.A. streets
January 20, 2010 at 12:56 pm | Posted in gangs, neighborhoods, police, prison system | Leave a comment
Tales of released prisoners often include poor recidivism rates or the creation of police informants, but Los Angeles is creating a new narrative about formerly-imprisoned gang members.
A stark contrast from the tensions between the LAPD and local gangs in the early 1990s, police have begun embracing the influence of former gang members, forming a partnership to decrease rumors after violent incidents and mentor younger members. Extending cooperation beyond “informants” is proving beneficial for the South Central community. Both residents and police acknowledge that the area has not seen these levels of safety in over 50 years. Recalling the 90′s, when drive-by shootings were part of everyday life, citizens are embracing the new safety initiatives on behalf of police and ex-offenders alike.
An institutional problem in Boston area police departments?
July 31, 2009 at 10:35 am | Posted in police, prison system, race | Leave a commentJust as the controversy over the arrest of black scholar Herny L. Gates at his Cambridge home by a white police officer appeared to be nearing an end, a Boston police officer has written a letter to the Boston Globe comparing Gates (multiple times) to a “jungle monkey”: “If I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana-eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance. “ Officer Justin Barrett has been suspended; he insists he is not a racist. (Barrett’s lawyer explains that his client’s comparison would have been “much less offensive, if [his client had] used a different species of animal.” [!]) Mayor Menino wants him fired. Watch the NECN report, via boston.com. Is this a free speech issue? Is it evidence of an institutional problem in Boston area police departments? As the Boston Globe reports, detective Larry Ellison, president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, points to multiple incidents, including that of a white officer who posted an article, “Slavery: Best Thing that Ever Happened to Blacks.” For more on police department culture, see the blog of sociologist and police officer Peter Moskos .
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