Tuesday, November 28, 2006

News of the Day 11-28-06

The Justice Policy Institute has a new report out, The Dangers of Detention: The Impact of Incarcerating Youth in Detention and Other Secure Facilities, reviewing state activities and studies and highlighting the common finding that recidivism rates after incarceration of juveniles are usually higher than those of similar youths getting probation. (Thanks to Ben Barlyn in NJ for the tip.) . . . A study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research finds that alcoholics misjudge how much sleep they are getting at night because of the way the drink influences their sleep cycle, making them more susceptible to drinking more in their efforts to get to sleep at night. Add in the annoyance brought on by loss of sleep and you can see how the problems explode. . . . Adam Kolber, the lead voice at the new Neuroethics & Law blog, has an article on the ethical and legal dangers of the drugs being developed to dampen memory in traumatic situations. There's more to it than just the problems with wiping out testimony about violent offenses, but that should give you enough to check it out. . . . A couple of items on new bodies being created to deal with specific corrections sentencing concerns, one on a new Commission on Sexual Violence in VA to develop recs for dealing with sexual violence victims and another on "violator centers" in WA to provide an option short of "return to prison" and revocation for probation and parole types. Interesting and innovative, proving that states are now the home of new ideas and possible solutions to our crim just problems as the feds have opted to focus on terrorism. . . . Add Arkansas to the states waking up one morning to more inmates than beds. Have you noticed how many stories from so many states we've been digging up lately? If they can't let them out and can't move them to community, either they build more beds or move to alternatives like . . . TECHNOCORRECTIONS. It's already happening on initial scales, and these stories are showing why. At least you can impress your friends about it by relating all you read here. No need to thank us. Just keep checking in regularly.

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