Links of Interest
What We Read, August 1-5, 2011
Criminal Justice Court Reform:
- Drug court: Why spending more will cost us less: Commentary in the San Jose Mercury News.
- In response to disproportionate numbers of nonwhite males unemployed and/or incarcerated, New York City unveiled a strategy involving, among other things, retraining probation officers to lower recidivism. Chicago Appleseed advocates for better trained and greater numbers of probation officers in Cook County.
Immigration Court Reform:
- The Los Angeles Times reports on how mental illness impacts persons facing hearings in the immigration courts. Human Rights Watch released a comprehensive report on the issue of persons with mental illness in deportation hearings last summer.
Community Justice:
- The new CPS code of conduct backs away from the zero tolerance trend of the last few years. Voices of Youth in Chicago Schools has released a report on the high costs and questionable efficacy of zero tolerance in Chicago Schools: Failed Policies, Broken Futures. (.pdf)