By Dr, Robert Ross, President and CEO, The California Endowment. President Obama recently shone the national spotlight on our criminal justice system; a system which has historically and disproportionately impacted communities of color, is costing taxpayers too much money, and hasn’t been smart or efficient enough in addressing the factors that push people to come […]
Read MoreBy Jeffrey Hest, KVPR To listen to the radio broadcast, click here. Thousands of residents in the valley are working through the process of having their previous felony convictions dropped to misdemeanors. It’s an element of Proposition 47 intended to help provide people with a clean slate and re-integrate more easily back into society. Advocates […]
Read MoreJohn Legend is a singer, songwriter, and philanthropist. President Obama’s decision to commute the sentences of 46 low-level drug offenders is a positive step To read the article on TIME Magazine, click here. This past Thursday, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison; just a few days earlier, hecommuted […]
Read MoreBY THOMAS G. HOFFMAN, Special to The Bee In my 34-year career in law enforcement, I have seen many misrepresentations of crime and criminal justice policies. That practice, sadly, continues as California makes important, necessary changes to its justice systems. The most recent example is the column “Safety is about more than securing our borders” (Insight, […]
Read MoreIn the nearly eight months since California voters approved sweeping criminal justice reforms, law enforcement officials in Riverside County have kept a close eye on its impacts to public safety. Proposition 47 sent a loud and clear signal for a greater emphasis on serious and violent offenses. The initiative reduced numerous offenses from felonies to […]
Read MoreBY CARMEN GEORGE When leaders of Faith in Community gather, board member Rabbi Rick Winer has been known to set the scene with the start of a joke. “The Muslim, the Jew and the Christian walk into the church or the bar — not the bar,” he clarifies with a laugh, “or the restaurant or […]
Read MoreIn this era of hyperpartisanship, the liberal-libertarian convergence on criminal-justice reform is, frankly, astonishing. Everyone from the Koch brothers to George Soros, from Tea Party Texan Sen. Ted Cruz to Democrat Hillary Clinton are singing from the same hymnal: “Today, far too many young men — and in particular African-American young men . . . find themselves subject to sentences […]
Read MoreJune 20, 2015 DAVID PEACE, a 35-year-old from Dallas, has never used the internet. Neither has he ever used a mobile phone, possessed a driving licence or received a pay-cheque. Mr Peace, who is black, stockily built, with a broad smile, was convicted of an aggravated assault in 1997 after using a knife in a […]
Read MoreSANTA CRUZ >> Dwindling numbers of inmates in recent years at Blaine Street Women’s Jail in Santa Cruz means the lockup could be closed temporarily and its women sent to the Main Jail, Sheriff’s Office leaders said this week. Sheriff Jim Hart said a decision has not been made but said he wants to talk […]
Read MoreNew America Media, News Report, George White, Posted: Jun 18, 2015 LOS ANGELES — The punishment didn’t really end when Rochelle Solombrino was released from state prison after serving an 18-month sentence for petty theft, drug possession, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. After all, people with felony convictions are often barred from employment and housing opportunities. Even though […]
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