tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318673182024-03-17T02:30:02.528-06:00Corrections SentencingMichael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.comBlogger1828125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-6236278501161146792012-01-10T07:58:00.002-06:002012-01-10T08:03:58.449-06:00Up and Running Again!!!For those of you who still kindly return here on a regular basis for information and those of get here through some wild accident of Google space-time warping, I want to let you know that some colleagues and I have started a new blog with many of the same topics and features as this blog. Check us out at <a href="http://jcoconsulting.net/blog">Corrections Sentencing 2020</a> as we build our corrections and sentencing network to work through the demanding challenges the next several years will bring fiscally and environmentally. <div><br /></div><div>As always, thanks for visiting here. Hope to see you there.--Mike</div>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-20211221262480842072008-02-01T16:36:00.000-06:002008-02-01T18:40:59.724-06:00Corrections Sentencing BlogrollIn my <a href="http://correctionssentencing.blogspot.com/2008/01/turn-out-lights.html">adios post </a>yesterday, I promised to put up my usual sources as a blogroll for you to use to keep up with areas and topics that you used to come here for. Here it is. Be sure to look at all of them when you have time, just to see what they have to offer if you don't already know. And some of them will have their own blogrolls that can extend your searches. I hope you get as much from them as I have.<br /><br />Corrections Sentencing Blogs<br /><a href="http://apublicdefender.com/">a public defender</a><br /><a href="http://www.blackprof.com/">BlackProf Blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.crimeandconsequences.com/">Crime and Consequences</a><br /><a href="http://cjj.mn-8.net/login.asp?loc=&link=">Crime and Justice News</a><br /><a href="http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/">CrimProf Blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.court-o-rama.org/">Court-o-rama</a><br /><a href="http://jurylaw.typepad.com/deliberations/">Deliberations</a><br /><a href="http://www.lawprofessors.typepad.com/evidenceprof/">EvidenceProf Blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.gavelgrab.org/">Gavel Grab</a><br /><a href="http://governingthroughcrime.blogspot.com/">Governing Through Crime</a><br /><a href="http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/">Grits for Breakfast</a><br /><a href="http://juvienation.wordpress.com/">Juvienation</a><br /><a href="http://made2measure.blogspot.com/">Made2Measure</a><br /><a href="http://ncpc.typepad.com/">Prevention Works</a><br /><a href="http://sentencing.typepad.com/">Sentencing Law and Policy</a><br /><a href="http://sexcrimes.typepad.com/sex_crimes/">Sex Crimes Blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.texasprisonbidness.org/">Texas Prison Bidness</a><br /><a href="http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/">The Real Cost of Prisons</a><br /><a href="http://thinkoutsidethecage2.blogspot.com/index.html">Think Outside the Cage</a><br /><br />Cognitive Science Sites<br /><a href="http://blogs.abc.net.au/allinthemind/">All in the Mind</a><br /><a href="http://www.mindhacks.com/">Mind Hacks</a><br /><a href="http://kolber.typepad.com/">Neuroethics & Law</a><br /><a href="http://www.crimepsychblog.com/">Psychology and Crime News</a><br /><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/channel/brain-and-behavior/">Science Blogs (Mind and Behavior)</a><br /><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/mind_brain/">Science Daily (Mind)</a><br /><br />General Science and Health Sites<br /><a href="http://www.healthcentral.com/">Health Central</a><br /><a href="http://www.reutershealth.com/en/index.html">Reuters Health</a><br /><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/">Science Daily</a><br /><a href="http://http//www.sciam.com/">Scientific American</a><br /><br />Other Discipline Sites<br /><a href="http://climateprogress.org/">Climate Progress (well, what it sounds like)</a><br /><a href="http://www.elsblog.org/">Empirical Legal Studies (law)</a><br /><a href="http://www.governing.com/">Governing (state and local government)</a><br /><a href="http://www.governing.typepad.com/13thfloor/">Governing's Blog--the 13th Floor</a><br /><a href="http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/">Prawfsblawg (law)</a><br /><a href="http://www.agonist.org/">The Agonist (econ)</a><br /><a href="http://www.themonkeycage.org/">The Monkey Cage (poli sci)</a><br /><a href="http://thesituationist.wordpress.com/">The Situationist (social psych)</a><br /><a href="http://lawandcourts.wordpress.com/">Voir Dire (law and politics)</a><br /><br />Research Report Sites<br /><a href="http://www.jrsa.org/">Justice Research and Statistics Association</a><br /><a href="http://www.ncsconline.org/">National Center for State Courts</a><br /><a href="http://www.nicic.org/">National Institute of Corrections</a><br /><a href="http://www.ncjrs.gov/wal.html">NCJRS Weekly Accessions</a><br /><a href="http://community.nicic.org/forums/default.aspx">NIC Correctional Research Roundtable</a><br /><a href="http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work.aspx?category=74">Pew Trusts Corrections and Public Safety</a><br /><a href="http://reentrypolicy.org/">Reentry Policy Council</a><br /><a href="http://www.sentencingproject.org/">The Sentencing Project</a><br /><a href="http://vera.org/">The Vera Institute of Justice</a><br /><a href="http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/intro.asp">Washington State Institute for Public Policy</a><br /><br />General and State Specific News Sites<br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/">BBC News</a><br /><a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/">Boston Globe</a><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/">Christian Science Monitor</a><br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/">CNN</a><br /><a href="http://www.jsonline.com/">Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</a><br /><a href="http://www.msn.com/">MSNBC</a><br /><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/">Newsweek</a><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/news">Reuters News</a><br /><a href="http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action">Stateline</a><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/america">The Guardian</a><br /><a href="http://www.usnews.com/">US News & World Report</a><br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/">USA Today</a><br /><a href="http://www.wtop.com/">WTOP</a>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-42825011563697964552008-01-31T17:43:00.002-06:002008-01-31T17:51:57.184-06:00Turn Out the LightsThis will be my last substantive post on this blog, for reasons described <a href="http://correctionssentencing.blogspot.com/2008/01/needing-some-advice.html">here</a>. As I considered the kind responses I received to my wondering how to deal with this blog taking up so much of my non-work life, I realized that cutting back or focusing on more specific topics really wouldn’t get it done. It would still just be saying the same things I’ve already said again and again over and over, and I couldn’t justify that use of time compared to the other things I can be doing. If only <em>People</em> or someone had come through to subsidize my Jamie Lynn Spears coverage so I could quit the day job . . . . So I’m setting a monthly post record and then taking off before I start looking like Willie Mays his last year with the Mets or that last season of “Friends.”<br /><br />I don’t have words good enough to tell you how much I appreciate the generous response to what we’ve done here and the people I wouldn’t know to look at them but whom I consider friends as a result of contacts here. For those of you interested in specific topics or blogs that I have cited here, tomorrow I will post the sites and their links that I hit each evening to find things to write about. I’ll leave it up for you to use that post as your blog roll to those topics if you’d like. Feel free to pass around the "So You Want . . ." readings on the right if someone sounds like they could use them. I’ll be posting occasionally on books, movies, tv (mainly telenovelas . . . seriously) at <a href="http://smilt.net/">my son’s blog</a>, and I plan to keep trying to help NIC’s Corrections Community <a href="http://community.nicic.org/forums/107.aspx">Correctional Research Roundtable </a> get off the ground now and then if you’d like to stay in touch.<br /><br />Thank you again for coming here. I hope that it has never been too aggravating. If I can ever help in any way (short of lending money), please let me know. Just because I’m moving on from sentencing doesn’t mean I don’t want the best things to happen. If/when the day comes when we move corrections sentencing from the early 1990s rhetoric and ideas that all sides here are still glued to and that technology and other countries are moving on from, maybe I’ll be able to contribute something substantive and we can start this again when there may be an actual payoff I can justify. As it is now, though, it’s time to pay off other things. This weekend my wife and I will start reading a novel together.<br /><br />It's been real and it's been fun. I truly do wish you the best.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-24630061539502304912008-01-31T17:43:00.001-06:002008-01-31T17:43:55.573-06:00Can This Be Our New National Motto, Please?<strong>“You can’t live in fear. Stuff happens.”</strong><br /><br />Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff <a href="http://www.governing.com/quotes.aspx">Myron Freeman</a>, saying he isn't uneasy about the south Fulton neighborhood where he lives despite burglars' theft from his home of his personal cellphone and his department-issued handgunMichael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-80384627900368193152008-01-31T17:36:00.000-06:002008-01-31T17:42:56.524-06:00Water, Water NowhereWhen I talk about the coming additional costs to state and local govs from the transitional expenses related to global warming and its scary cousins, peak oil and declining water supplies, and the impact of those costs on all current programs and spending, like corrections sentencing, I usually focus on the weather elements. But <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080131/ap_on_sc/climate_change_western_water">here</a>'s a great story on what I'm talking about from the H2O side, in case you don't believe me:<br /><br /><em>Human activity such as driving and powering air conditioners is responsible for up to 60 percent of changes contributing to dwindling water supplies in the arid and growing West, a new study finds. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Those changes are likely to accelerate, says the study published Thursday in Science magazine, portending "a coming crisis in water supply for the western United States."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The study is likely to add to urgent calls for action already coming from Western states competing for the precious resource to irrigate farms and quench the thirst of growing populations. Devastating wildfires, avalanches and drought have also underscored the need.</em><br /><br /><em>Researchers led by climate expert Tim P. Barnett at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, studied climate changes in the West between 1950-1999. They noted that winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain rather than snow, snow melts faster, river flows decrease in summer months, and overall warming is exacerbating dry summer conditions.</em><br /><em>.................................</em><br /><em>"The picture painted is quite grim so it's time to collectively sit down and get our act together," Barnett added, suggesting the need for conservation, more water storage, and a slowdown on development in the desert Southwest.</em><br /><br /><em>"The building is just going crazy, so it would be a pretty good idea to put a curb on that unless they can figure out how to get more water," he said.</em><br /><br /><em>The study also included researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of Washington, Seattle, and the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan.</em><br /><br /><em>"Our results are not good news for those living in the western United States," they conclude. The research "foretells of water shortages, lack of storage capability to meet seasonally changing river flow, transfers of water from agricultural to urban uses and other critical impacts."</em><br /><br />And, since NM's governor has already been asking why those Great Lakes shouldn't be funneled southwest, this isn't just a Western problem. Welcome to your 21st Century, folks.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-46546560665311406672008-01-31T17:35:00.000-06:002008-01-31T17:36:21.350-06:00Boy, Do I SympathizeIf you want to live a moment in the life of people trying to get chicken salad out of chicken data from crim just agencies, read <a href="http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2008/01/31/news/local_state/129837.txt">this story </a>from ID on (possible) mixups in the state’s report on child sex abuse prosecutions and why they (might have) happened. You would be making a safe bet if you bet this story is repeated all over the country in various agencies every day. As I’ve said before, after about a decade and a half of working with them, I warn people not to see laws, sausages, or criminal justice data being made.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-54256282465641229532008-01-31T17:33:00.000-06:002008-01-31T17:35:36.132-06:00More NCJRS Abstracts, January 31, 2007AMONG THE LATEST RESEARCH POSTED AT <a href="http://www.ncjrs.gov/">http://www.ncjrs.gov/</a>. CHECK FOR OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST THERE AS WELL.<br /><br />NCJ 221056<br /><strong>Patricia Gonzalez; Tony Romero; Christine B. Cerbana<br /></strong><em>Parent Education Program for Incarcerated Mothers in Colorado<br /><strong>Journal of Correctional Education</strong></em><strong> Volume:58 Issue:4 Dated:December 2007 Pages:357 to 373<br /></strong><br />This study examined the short-term impact on 219 incarcerated mothers of the Partners in Parenting (PIP) curriculum, a skill-based program that focuses on strengthening family relationships and promoting positive behaviors. This study found that the differences in testing before and after participation in PIP showed that the mothers experienced an increase in their sense of parenting proficiency, improved their parenting skills, and increased their knowledge about parenting. The PIP education curriculum contains material on reintegration issues after release that tend to confront families. Issues discussed include establishing positive social support networks, the school system, and high-risk behaviors by children. All participants in the PIP program were administered a test before and after program participation in order to assess their parenting attitudes before and after program participation. The first section of the test consisted of 10 items that asked the mothers to report on how their parents treated them as they were growing up, with attention to perceptions of whether their parents helped them with their problems and made them feel wanted. The second section of the test contained 10 items that asked the mothers how they parent their children. The questions dealt with such parenting behaviors as respecting their children's opinions and giving their children help with problems. The last section of the test focused on the mothers' feelings about how they have performed as a parent and how parents should treat their children. 3 figures, 2 tables, 9 references, and appended test administered before and after program participation<br /><br />NCJ 221007<br /><strong>Rita Haverkamp</strong><br /><em>Implementing Electronic Monitoring<br /></em><strong>Max-Planck-Institute Fur Auslandisches und Internationales Strafrecht [!!!]<br /></strong><br />This study compared attitudes of criminal justice professionals toward the electronic monitoring of offenders among criminal justice professionals in Lower Saxony/Germany (n=541) and Sweden (n=440), so as to gain insight into a number of key issues associated with the debate on electronic monitoring. The comparison of the findings in the two countries shows similarities and differences in criminal justice professionals' attitudes toward electronic monitoring. Respondents in both countries hold a positive view of electronic monitoring in principle; however, support among the Swedish criminal justice practitioners is stronger than among their German colleagues. The professionals in both countries want to integrate electronic monitoring as a form of enforcement in the sentencing and correctional system. They also agree on the goal of the measure, i.e., reduction in the use of imprisonment and a reduction in the time spent in prison. During and after prison, the majority of respondents in both Germany and Sweden want the use of electronic monitoring; however, in Sweden the use of electronic monitoring is preferred in the context of parole. Respondents in both countries favor electronic monitoring as an alternative to imprisonment for offenders who are elderly, physically handicapped, chronically sick, or pregnant. In both countries, significantly less support exists for its use with substance abusers, violent offenders, repeat offenders, and sex offenders. In a statement based on these findings, the author suggests a change in the criminal proceedings toward a policy that uses electronic monitoring as an alternative to imprisonment and to shorten time in prison. An appropriate use would be to apply the measure in cases of minor probation or parole violations. Suggestions are offered for when to use electronic monitoring to shorten sentences of various lengths. 4 figures, 30 notes, and 52 referencesMichael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-21775303089614669872008-01-30T17:05:00.001-06:002008-01-30T17:10:28.898-06:00Why I Miss WisconsinA friend from WI sent me <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=712631">this</a>, knowing all the levels that this is a remarkable story, even for WI. You have to read the whole thing, but here are a few teasers:<br /><br /><em>Heavy drinking only seems to make everyone better looking, and it sure doesn't improve judgment.</em><br /><br /><em>Pat Dykstra is living, breathing, drunk-dialing proof of that.</em><br /><br /><em>She's the Dodge County woman who called 911 from her pickup truck early Sunday to report that she just might be intoxicated enough to need a sheriff's squad to follow her home. Wonder if she would have expected warm milk and a tuck-in once they got there.</em><br /><br /><em>And why did she make such a call? Because her boyfriend, who admitted to downing twice as much beer as Dykstra did at the tavern, told her to.</em><br /><br /><em>"He wanted me to call 911 'cause he thinks I'm too drunk to drive," Dykstra, 51, of Fox Lake, told the surprised-sounding dispatcher. . . . </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>. . . Dykstra agreed to a TV news interview that did little to re-establish her solid judgment. She was asked what she thought would happen when she called 911 to report a drunk on the road - herself.</em><br /><br /><em>"I really wasn't sure. Like I said, I don't think I was really thinking that much at the time either," she told Channel 4. . . .</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The sheriff compared Dykstra's actions to a burglar who suffers remorse and turns himself in later. But to me it seems more like a burglar who calls police during the break-in and says come and get me. Very odd. . . . </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The most ironic moment in Dykstra's call comes at the end when she says she must hang up because it's really not safe to drive and talk on her cell at the same time. . . .<br /></em>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-88955319129333758692008-01-30T17:04:00.000-06:002008-01-30T17:05:00.429-06:00Want Proof?Of what brainless and scared stupid people we’ve become? Check out Gideon’s <a href="http://apublicdefender.com/2008/01/29/three-degrees-of-youre-a-predator/">catch </a>at “a public defender” blog of a guy in trouble now because one of his MySpace friends linked to a porn site, meaning a kid on the first guy’s page could click and then click and find porn. Generations of Americans have fought and died for us?<br /><br />[Warning: Some of the language in the post may be offensive. If Americans were grown ups, I wouldn’t have to warn you, but see above.]Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-54177654060121514932008-01-30T17:02:00.000-06:002008-01-30T17:04:05.152-06:00The Dangers of RecidivismAren’t limited to the act by offenders itself. We also run into serious problems with its definition, as Corey Rayburn Yung discusses and links to in <a href="http://sexcrimes.typepad.com/sex_crimes/2008/01/numbers-guy-on.html">this post </a>at Sex Crimes Blog. If we insist that public safety is the central focus of corrections sentencing (and leave aside whether it’s best attained through prevention, deterrence, incapacitation, all of the above, none, whatever), then recidivism is the central number we have to address. But as Corey notes, reports disagree and looking at aggregate or general numbers to the exclusion of sub-populations is dangerous when determining public policy. Some sex offenders, for instance, are horrendous recidivists while others do so so infrequently that they’re the ones responsible in part for the low overall rates that Corey discusses. And this doesn’t even get into the time frames you choose to look at (12 months, 36, lifetime?) or the act that makes you a recidivist (rearrest, technical violation of parole, reconviction). Depending on how you put these together, states and offender types can have multiple recidivism rates being thrown around at policymaking time. And, in my experience, the policymakers are not real thrilled with that. So Corey is right, as usual, in praising any effort to bring more light to the subject. The problem is, the lights need to equal what we’ll see on Sunday during the Big Game.<br /><br />[Doug Berman adds some typically thoughtful commentary on Corey’s post <a href="http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2008/01/lies-damned-lie.html#comments">here</a> at Sentencing Law and Policy.]Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-56439961042102677382008-01-30T17:01:00.002-06:002008-01-30T17:02:51.543-06:00A More Direct Tie?Between the <a href="http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourHome/BrokeHomeownersTurnToArson.aspx">home mortgage crisis </a>and corrections sentencing?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Broke homeowners linked to arsons<br /></strong> </span>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-7608945897832884032008-01-30T17:01:00.001-06:002008-01-30T17:01:53.308-06:00Beaten to the Draw AgainLooks like <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124195440.htm">business schools </a>are going to be the first to combine games, agent-based modeling, and simulation of real-life situations to test and train students on possible applications of their academic learning. Am I concerned that I’ve been begging the criminology and foundation types to get into this for a couple of years now and still no one is noticing? No, because I’m a mature person. Naa, naa, naa.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-10432877985105730642008-01-30T16:59:00.000-06:002008-01-30T17:01:02.643-06:00Addiction and Genetic Risk<em>For several decades, scientists have known that most of the risk for <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080129175107.htm">habitual heavy smoking </a>(smoking a pack each day) is largely influenced by genetics. This conclusion comes from the study of identical and fraternal twins from Scandinavia, North America, Australia and (more recently) China. It has been estimated that ~ 2/3 of the risk to become a heavy habitual smoker is genetic. This does not imply that this genetic risk is due to a single gene. It is known that many genes are involved, each one contributing a small amount of risk.<br /><br />Finding the individual genes is a considerable challenge, but worth the effort, because it is hoped that the genes conveying risk for heavy smoking could be used to develop new medicines to help people quit. The development of new medicines to help people quit is particularly important, because the existing medications, including nicotine replacement ('the patch' or gum), bupropion and varenicline are effective in the short-term (several months) for a minority of heavy smokers.<br /></em><br />First nicotine, then other abused substances? Bioengineering and TECHNOCORRECTIONS? I’d say so. <br /><br />And <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124135504.htm">here</a>’s a possible technique for making those genetic changes if you want to prove yourself really interesting at parties:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">New Method Exploits Ancient Mechanism To Switch Genes On And Off At Will</span></strong>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-2604940630227600882008-01-30T16:57:00.000-06:002008-01-30T16:58:46.467-06:00When You Don't Have to Worry about Heating Costs<strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080130/NEWS01/801300399/1001/NEWS01">"Tents"</a> will house up to 448 prison inmates</span></strong>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-72673202616084991032008-01-30T16:56:00.000-06:002008-01-30T16:57:23.393-06:00So Little Kids Could Do Coke?<em>In young children, psychostimulants relieve symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder, yet in adolescents and adults, those <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080129175104.htm">same medications </a>can cause euphoria and are often abused.<br /><br />What is behind these differing drug responses?<br /><br />Temple University scientists have identified a potential molecular mechanism, the neurotrophin system comprised of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor TrkB, as the cause of age differences in stimulant response. Their findings appear in the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.<br /><br />"Our findings suggest that the rapidly developing young brain is able to adapt and protect itself against the rewarding effects of stimulants due to the input of the TrkB system," said Ellen Unterwald, PhD, lead investigator and professor of pharmacology at Temple University's School of Medicine and Center for Substance Abuse Research.<br /><br />Most preclinical studies have found that susceptibility to the addictive properties of stimulants is age-dependent. This is the first study to link the TrkB neurotrophin system to those age-specific responses. The hope is that BDNF/TrkB might someday be used as a target for the development of new treatments for childhood neuropsychiatric disorders or addiction.</em>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-15163127022493115762008-01-30T16:54:00.000-06:002008-01-30T16:56:19.390-06:00Employability Certificates and Budget CutsIA may be joining the small group of states which try to improve offender reentry chances with “<a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080130/NEWS10/801300380/1011">certificates of employability</a>” under a gov proposal this year. The state is also looking at “racial impact statements,” a concept that could have a big impact (sorry) on the behavior of a lot of agents in state crim just, pushed strongly by the Sentencing Project folks. IA’s one of the states with corrections sentencing issues on front burner this year and what happens there may affect a lot more down the line. Meanwhile, KY is another state with issues, a <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080130/NEWS0101/801300819/1008/NEWS01">GIANT budget decrease </a>on the horizon, sweeping prosecutors and PDs in as well. And yes, we’ve mentioned KY as one of the state’s with mega-prison pop probs looming, although, with fewer DAs and PDs, fewer prosecutions will be likely, making crime much more attractive even if penalties are higher. <a href="http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/302040.html">Here</a>’s how one state paper accurately and succinctly put it:<br /><br /><em>Kentucky would keep packing felons into its prisons and jails, and the Corrections Department would suck money from the rest of the justice system -- including Kentucky State Police, prosecutors and public defenders -- in Gov. Steve Beshear's two-year budget proposal.<br /></em><br />Interesting experiment.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-81803823335130197402008-01-30T16:52:00.000-06:002008-01-30T16:53:58.201-06:00One Reason Relapse Is Easy<em>Using a brain imaging technology called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scientists have discovered that <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080130092113.htm">cocaine-related images </a>trigger the emotional centers of the brains of patients addicted to drugs -- even when the subjects are unaware they've seen anything.<br /><br />A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Dr. Anna Rose Childress and Dr. Charles O'Brien, showed cocaine patients photos of drug-related cues like crack pipes and chunks of cocaine. The images flashed by in just 33 milliseconds -- so quickly that the patients were not consciously aware of seeing them. Nonetheless, the unseen images stimulated activity in the limbic system, a brain network involved in emotion and reward, which has been implicated in drug-seeking and craving.<br /><br />"This is the first evidence that cues outside one's awareness can trigger rapid activation of the circuits driving drug-seeking behavior," said NIDA director Dr. Nora Volkow. "Patients often can't pinpoint when or why they start craving drugs. Understanding how the brain initiates that overwhelming desire for drugs is essential to treating addiction."<br />……………………………….<br />Childress and her colleagues also found that the regions of the brain activated by drug images overlapped substantially with those activated by sexual images. This finding supports the scientific consensus that addictive drugs usurp brain regions that recognize natural rewards needed for survival, like food and sex.<br /><br />According to Childress, these results could improve drug treatment strategies. "We have a brain hard-wired to appreciate rewards, and cocaine and other drugs of abuse latch onto this system. We are looking at the potential for new medications that reduce the brain's sensitivity to these conditioned drug cues and would give patients a fighting chance to manage their urges."</em>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-66806017382223731112008-01-29T17:38:00.001-06:002008-01-29T17:40:06.614-06:00Die, You Gravy Sucking Pigs<a href="http://scienceblogs.com/terrasig/2008/01/die_you_gravysucking_pigs.php">This post </a>gives you the latest blogosphere reaction to the brainiac quote we cited <a href="http://correctionssentencing.blogspot.com/2008/01/twitching-screaming-deaths-can-be-great.html">yesterday</a> from the deputy director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy, with a tip of the hat to Steve Martin for the post title, which I copied. All of them are good and splat-perfect, but this is my favorite:<br /><br /><em>Hey, here's another suggestion: let's stop teaching people the Heimlich maneuver. Not only does it put a medical procedure in the hands of mere non-medical professionals, watching a few fat people in your local McDonalds choke and die, turning purple, thrashing on the floor, and clawing their throats, would be an excellent salutary lesson in the dangers of gluttony and poor dietary habits.</em>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-12418422427501790322008-01-29T17:37:00.001-06:002008-01-29T17:37:57.699-06:00I'd Love to Hear What Juno Would Say<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Mental Health Screenings, <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080128113200.htm">Risk Behavior </a>Interventions Needed In Juvenile Justice System</span></strong>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-21975713211069854652008-01-29T17:35:00.000-06:002008-01-29T17:36:55.201-06:00Another TECHNOCORRECTIONS Breakthrough<em>A new chemical synthesis method based on a catalyst worth many times the price of gold and providing a far more efficient and economical method than traditional ones for designing and manufacturing extremely <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080123161246.htm">novel pharmaceutical compounds </a>is described by its University at Buffalo developers in a review article in the journal Nature.<br /></em><br />Why is that important to us in corrections sentencing?<br /><br /><em>So far, the new synthesis strategy has generated compounds that have potential activity against a broad range of disease states, from cancer to central nervous system disorders, such as depression, to inflammatory and microbial diseases and <strong>medications for treating cocaine addiction</strong>.</em> (emphasis mine)<br /><br />It should be even more important as the bioengineering side of TECHNO develops better abilities to pinpoint precise pharmaceutical remedies for individual addicts and others whose behavior can be affected by directed pharmaceuticals, like maybe sex offenders or violent types. The biggest news will be when the researchers involved on both sides start doing the same car pool.<br /><br />[<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080128152320.htm">Here</a>’s how it could be applied. Researchers have apparently discovered the means to block morphine addiction in mice. (How the mice got hooked on morphine is not disclosed.) The researchers think they may be able to induce the same effect pharmaceutically. And, if they can do it for morphine, that opens up possibilities for other addictive substances, even though not all of them act the same as morphine or its derivatives like oxycontin in the body. Good news for mice, for sure, but combine it with the findings above and maybe we can see ways to get a giant chunk of our prison pop out of those beds needed for the violent and sex folks. Then we can turn the TECHNO on for them, too, maybe.]Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-37114898101427525092008-01-29T17:32:00.000-06:002008-01-29T17:35:10.840-06:00Can a State Go Bankrupt?<strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>Treatment is sought for addicts<br />STATE </em><a href="http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/297141.html"><em>BANKRUPTING </em></a><em>ITSELF BY JAILING THEM, PANEL TOLD<br /></em></span></strong><em><br />State officials are asking Gov. Steve Beshear and the legislature to consider steering criminal suspects with addiction problems into intensive treatment rather than a jail cell.<br />Kentucky is bankrupting itself by imprisoning drug addicts and alcoholics, lawmakers were told Thursday.</em><br /><br /><em>"We have too many people in jails, too many people in prisons," state Justice Secretary J. Michael Brown told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Our capacity to care for them has been strained to the limit."</em><br /><br /><em>The state is poorly served by locking up street-level addicts, Brown added.</em><br /><br /><em>"I don't think we're getting the worst drug lords into the prisons. We're just getting the people who went out and got caught," he said. "It's the low-hanging fruit." . . . </em><br /><br /><em>More than 80 percent of the state's criminal suspects get into trouble because of substance abuse, Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield, told the committee.</em><br /><br /><em>Kelly and Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley, D-Richmond, are pushing Senate Bill 72, which would establish an intensive three-month to six-month addiction treatment program for people charged with felonies. The committee unanimously approved the bill Thursday and sent it to the full Senate.</em><br /><br /><em>"This is one of the most sensible solutions to dealing with this problem in the real world," said Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville.</em><br /><br /><em>Under the bill, court officials would screen less-serious felony suspects within days of their arrests to determine who has a relevant addiction problem that could be resolved with treatment. Participants would agree to live in a secured 200-bed facility or, if it's considered safe, other residential drug-treatment programs identified by the state.</em><br /><br /><em>Successful participants later could have their records expunged and avoid a prison sentence, although follow-up treatment would be assigned. People who quit or are booted from the program would return to the justice system to stand trial. </em>(h/t <a href="http://cjj.mn-8.net/login.asp?loc=&link=">Crime and Justice News</a>)<br /><br />Don’t worry. In reality, a state will start furloughing staff with unpaid work days each month, maybe cut pay, reduce services to the bare bones before it will actually go bankrupt. No big deal.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-19756197426233574222008-01-29T17:31:00.000-06:002008-01-29T17:32:32.419-06:00Four Years to ProbationIn case you were wondering what cell in your sentencing grid to put “<a href="http://www.wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1334686">faking having sextuplets </a>and taking money for them” if it ever comes up in your state.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-35541386011040865852008-01-29T17:29:00.000-06:002008-01-29T17:31:37.481-06:00So the Deterrence Thing Isn't WorkingImportant <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-28-crime-families_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip">story</a> in <em>USA Today</em> today on multigenerational crime, how it runs in families who show how to do time, and how we brainiacs in corr sent are only now starting to glom onto the problem. Excerpts:<br /><br /><em>Nearly half of the 2 million inmates in state prisons across the USA — 48% — say they have relatives who also have been incarcerated, according to a Justice Department report in 2004, the most recent comprehensive survey of state prison populations. . . .</em><br /><em><br />The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says an estimated 2 million children with one or both parents incarcerated face the greatest risk of perpetuating the cycle of crime across generations. As part of a pilot project this year, the department will try to link 3,000 of those children with "mentors" to assist with counseling and other social needs, says Curtis Porter, an administrator in the department's Family and Youth Services Bureau.</em><br /><br /><em>Porter says the number of children with incarcerated parents is a conservative estimate that may not capture the entire population. He suggests generational problems associated with such families are more serious.</em><br /><br /><em>"There is a replication and a recycling of crime across generations," University of Maryland criminologist John Laub says. "It's a huge problem."</em><br /><br /><em>Family ties are ingrained in just about every part of the nation's criminal justice system. On California's death row, prison spokeswoman Terry Thornton says, there are six sets of brothers among the 667 condemned prisoners awaiting death by lethal injection.</em><br /><br /><em>In Texas, which has executed six sets of siblings, there are two sets of cousins on death row. An additional dozen or so death row inmates have relatives serving time in other parts of the state prison system, spokeswoman Michelle Lyons says.</em><br /><br />And, of course, there’s the prototypical DA’s office rep denying that upbringing and circumstances have any impact at all on how people turn out. She needs a strong dose of <a href="http://thesituationist.wordpress.com/">The Situationist</a>. There’s lead paint missing from a house somewhere.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-27310119920077742642008-01-29T17:27:00.000-06:002008-01-29T17:29:12.176-06:00I'm Not the Only One Profiting<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">An Economy Grows Around Britney <a href="http://www.wtop.com/?nid=114&sid=1334467">Spears</a></span></strong><br /><br />Now if I could just see some actual dollars . . . .<br /><br />Will this get it done?<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Jamie Lynn <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-01-28-jamie-lynn-spears_N.htm">Spears</a>' TV show, 'Zoey 101,' returns</span></strong>Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31867318.post-58072367842104442582008-01-29T17:24:00.000-06:002008-01-29T17:27:27.063-06:00Looking for a Job?How DOCs can do EBP and reentry, from Corrections Community:<br /><br /><em>The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) solicits proposals from organizations or individuals for a 12-month cooperative agreement to provide coaching on executive leadership and complex project management to achieve the implementation of evidence based practices (EBP) on offender risk reduction for the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) Community Corrections Act oversight unit and a limited number of local community corrections agencies. The project is jointly supported by NIC and the JEHT Foundation.</em><br /><br /><em>This Request For Proposals seeks a Technical Resource Person or Persons (TRP) to facilitate the strategic change process at both the KDOC oversight and selected local community corrections agencies levels. The coaching will include evidence based policy and practice related to decision making by criminal justice officials and stakeholders; organizational development knowledge and strategies; and assessment, case management and behavioral interventions for the state’s adult felony probation population. The selected TRP will need to be available for on site facilitation and off site coaching beginning early April, 2008, and continuing for twelve months thereafter. An initial site visit including NIC and JEHT representation will be scheduled upon award of the cooperative agreement.</em><br /><br />The full announcement and resource documents can be found <a href="http://community.nicic.org/blogs/nic/archive/2008/01/22/Kansas-EBP-Implementation.aspx">here</a>. (I know, Eileen, but better late than never.) Maybe these sorts of initiatives are the reasons why KS is having <a href="http://community.nicic.org/blogs/offender_employment/archive/2008/01/02/new-offenses-by-parolees-drops-41-percent-in-kansas-since-start-of-programs.aspx">these kinds </a>of results.Michael Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292758786206928065noreply@blogger.com3