Continuing to track the effects of the economic downturn: Part IIII

More news stories: some good, but mostly not-so-good, from the last week or so:

• (USA) Department of Justice Announces $100 Million in Recovery Act Funds for Crime Victim Programs: http://tinyurl.com/azl8j6
• (USA) Santa Clara, California, crime-victim services in turmoil: http://tinyurl.com/c9gfo6
• (USA) Wisconsin may reduce sex offender tracking to save cash: http://tinyurl.com/cg4ayn
• (USA) South Carolina statewide victim advocate program could be cut in half: http://tinyurl.com/cm6eqz
• (USA) Florida domestic violence rises as recession frays families: http://tinyurl.com/aa5cm7
• (USA) Economic crisis propels prison system changes: http://tinyurl.com/cqpg7c
• (USA) Offenders on parole surge 5+ million - States urged to improve probation, parole programs to reduce cost: http://tinyurl.com/ahc4my
• (USA) Budget concerns force states to reconsider the death penalty: http://tinyurl.com/czb5h3
• (USA) South Carolina House proposal may cut $5 million to fund judiciary - reduce funding for victims: http://tinyurl.com/d7uu4e
• (USA) Michigan: closure of crime lab creates backlog in cases - up to one year: http://tinyurl.com/aokjbe
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Call for restraint from the media and public when victims are involved

In a marvellous researched and annotated article from Eurozine: "Victims of violence: Can we demand restraint from the public sphere?" examines victims of crime and the media, and whether vicarious public interest in sensationalist or titallating crime is enough of a reason to impose on their privacy.

In considering the theme of "The public sphere, media and restraint", I would like to bear in mind the following questions: Does the public have a right to be informed? What does "freedom of the media" actually entail? What are the causes of the increasing interest in victims of crime? What are the contradictory needs of the victims? How are those needs exploited by television? What needs to be done?

Continuing to track the effects of the economic downturn: Part III

The latest week's set of articles or stories on the effects of the economic downturn on crime, criminal justice and victims of crime.

• (USA) Tennessee: Crime victim fund holds steady
• (China) Economic crisis brings threat of crime wave to China
• (USA) Justice programs grants and funding in the US Recovery Act
• (USA) Wisconsin Governor proposing early prison releases in state budget
• (USA) Texas board makes recommendations for shrinking Victims of Crime Act funding

Rape victim jailed by judge after breaking down on the witness stand (Scotland, UK)

Well, we can all be thankful that at least one British judge is ensuring that process and propriety is more important than humanity and common decency.

An anguished rape accuser locked up by a judge after breaking down in the witness box has relived her nightmare in the cells.

Ann Robertson bravely came forward to tell a jury how her paedophile uncle raped her when she was a child.

But after she ran from court in tears and refused to answer any more questions, temporary judge Sheriff Roger Craik ordered police to put her in a cell for the night.

So much for empathy and support from the courts. The victim has filed a formal complaint, and the case is being investigated.

Traumatised Ann has now given up her legal right to anonymity to condemn Craik and the cops.

She said last night: "I was in court as a victim but I was treated as a criminal. I wish I'd never put myself through this and I regret going to the police.

...She said: "I was being asked about my personal life and about relationships I'd had and why they had ended.

"None of it was relevant. I broke down and ran from the court."

A victim support worker calmed Ann down and she returned to the witness box, but she was still unhappy with the lawyer's questions.

She said: "The sheriff told me I had to answer or I could be held in contempt and locked up for two years. I told him I didn't want to answer questions of no relevance and asked for a short break.

"When we came back at around 3.50pm, the court was adjourned for the day. And Sheriff Craik said maybe a night in the cells would calm me down."

At the very least, this judge should be removed from the bench.

As quickly as humanly possible.

Wisconsin's juvenile justice system tested by child killers(USA)

This fascinating article examines, in some depth, the problems and issues created by Wisconsin's present juvenile justice system when dealing juvenile perpetrators.

Karow's story illustrates the vagaries of Wisconsin laws governing juvenile murder cases, demonstrates the state's conflicted thinking on such matters and raises difficult if familiar questions:

Is society better served by treating teenage killers as adults, sentencing them to long prison stays that keep them off the streets but can turn them into hardened criminals? Or is it better to treat them as children, with much shorter sentences and rehabilitation?

And at what age should the distinction be made?

While young killers are the focus of the piece, it also touches on how the juvenile justice system approaches child perpetrators of other crimes:

Susan Kruzel, a professional counselor with the Anxiety, Stress and Depression Center in Appleton, said Wisconsin law is inconsistent in its treatment of juveniles.

She said a 15-year-old girl, for example, can be waived into adult court for theft but cannot consent to sex in the eyes of the law.

"If she is psychologically mature enough to commit a crime, then isn't she psychologically mature enough to make those other decisions?" Kruzel asked. "Are they adults or aren't they? Let's decide."

Continuing to track the effects of the economic downturn

We will be continuing to post articles and stories on the effects of the economic downturn on the criminal justice system, victims of crime, and victim rights.

• (USA) Pennsylvania dv shelters hurting from the economy
• (USA) Study finds recession associated with increases in minority victims of crime
• (USA) Spiraling prison budgets
• (Nigeria) Between robbery and kidnapping

The effects of the economy on crime, justice and victims

The chilling effect of the economic downturn is beginning to affect all aspects of the criminal justice system, and victims of crime. The following are just a few of the stories on this issue which have hit the Internet over the last few weeks:

• (USA) States struggle to fund crime compensation: http://tinyurl.com/cbf6rd
• (USA) Budget bear takes a bite out of high-tech crime fighting: http://tinyurl.com/c87hwo
• (UK) Legal threat to councils for not providing rape victim support: http://tinyurl.com/bxeknx
• (USA) Strapped states eye prison savings: http://tinyurl.com/ctueb4
• (USA) Paper: Alternative Sentencing in the Federal Criminal Justice System
• (USA) The economic case against the death penalty getting more attention
• (USA) A new report by The Sentencing Project highlights 17 states that enacted sentencing and corrections reforms in 2008. The State of Sentencing 2008: Developments in Policy and Practice finds that a nationwide budget crisis coupled with widespread prison overcrowding has led many states to address critical challenges in the areas of sentencing, drug policy, parole revocation, racial justice, felony disenfranchisement, juvenile justice, and higher education in prison....
  
• (USA) Funding cuts hurt victims
  
  

On the use of technology in court: Should plea agreements be publically available online?

An interesting question was brought up in a series of recent posts on the Sentencing Law and Policy blog: Should plea agreements, once filed, be publicly available online?

Several papers are referenced by this post, as well as other connected posts on that blog. Fears of private information being collected and used to intimidate or harass victims or witnesses are brought up, as are concerns that the judicial process itself could be short-circuited. An interesting, if sometimes legalistic, viewpoint.

You can read the papers (free .pdf downloads: you will need to click the "Download" link on each page to get the lengthy papers) which sparked the discussion:

• Nonparty Remote Electronic Access to Plea Agreements in the Second Circuit
• Privacy, Accountability, and the Cooperating Defendant: Towards a New Role for Internet Access to Court Records

Regional councils at legal risk for not providing rape and domestic violence support services (UK)

I don't think it can be put any more bluntly:

More than 100 councils will today be threatened with legal action over their failure to provide rape crisis centres and domestic violence support services, with a strongly worded warning issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Research reveals that one in four local authorities in Britain offer no specialised services for women who have faced violence or abuse, and shows that a quarter of those rape crisis centres that are still operating believe they will either have to close or radically cut services in 2009.

The findings, published jointly by the EHRC and the End Violence Against Women campaign, offer a stark illustration of the large areas of the country where there is now no provision at all.

While this surprising news is tied to a downturn in the economy, what is shocking is that government programs for domestic violence prevention have seen their funding increase, while there has been no similar increase for victims of rape and sexual assault.

The study highlights the patchy state of provision, citing cases of victims who have been forced to make 120-mile trips to receive counselling. It shows that ethnic minority women, who often require very specific services (relating, for example, to issues such as forced marriage) are especially poorly served, with just 10% of local authorities offering dedicated support.

The piecemeal way in which these groups have had to gather funding in the past has always made their long-term existence precarious. But groups say they have found it increasingly difficult to persuade local authorities to fund their work, and blame a preference for funding large-scale service providers rather than small charities, and a failure of central government policymakers to prioritise sexual violence support services.

Only 38 remain rape crisis centres remain in England and Wales, many of which may close soon. Workers in the sector claim there are more pet rescue centres than women's violence support groups.

The full report is available for download

Feedback and reports on House Armed Services Committee hearing of testimony on sexual assault in the military (USA)

The hearing, which took place Wednesday, January 28th, has created a storm or reports, articles and commentary. Here's a snapshot of the information being provided:

Video Webcasts of Hearing and Testimony: Full web video of the hearings (in five parts), from the US Armed Services Committee website.

Sexual Assault in the Military

“Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq,” Congresswoman Jane Harman (CA) reported to the congressional committee for Military Sexual Assault Victim Support and Response. The committee met Wednesday with military personnel to discuss how the Department of Defense can improve victim support and advocacy. Beginning the hearing was former marine Laura Waterson. Ms. Waterson was sexually assaulted by an officer in her unit in early 2001. Her testimony shed light on the meager and often time insulting support provided to her by the military following her report that she was sexually abused.

Lawmakers press for more progress on assault cases

Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairwoman Susan Davis, D-Calif., said lawmakers hope to use the hearings to develop better rules on victim advocacy, offender prosecution and command attitudes towards the crimes.

"The Department of Defense has made significant improvements in recent years to the depth and the breadth of services available after an assault … but the question we need to ask is, ‘Has enough been done?’" she said.

The hearing also came a day after Reps. Jane Harman, D-Calif., and Michael Turner, R-Ohio, reintroduced legislation calling for stricter regulations on military sexual assault cases, including punishment for commanders involved in dismissed rape cases, notification of civilian authorities as well as military investigators, and a review of all current assault counseling training.

Army names special prosecutors for assault cases

The Army Judge Advocate General Corps is adding 15 special prosecutors to focus on sexual assault cases, marking the first time it has hired prosecutors for a specific crime, said Lt. Gen. Scott Black, U.S. Army judge advocate general.

The prosecutors will both try sexual assault cases and train the other 350 prosecutors in the JAG corps on handling such cases, Black told reporters on Monday. They will be assigned to the Army’s busiest jurisdictions, such as forts Bragg and Hood.

Until now, Army JAG Corps lawyers have been generalists, not specialists, he said.

“We train everyone to a baseline level for prosecution purposes, and that includes sexual assault cases,” he said.

The Army announced this and other moves Monday to curb sexual harassment, shortly after Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey would continue to emphasize sexual assault prevention...

...“Our sexual assault rates were double those of the other services, and I took little solace from what the personnel folks told me, which was we just report better than everyone else,” Casey said.

Victims of sexual abuse in military share stories: Panel at the UCLA School of Law discusses treatment of assault cases in the Army, Navy

When Army Sgt. Angela Peacock was 18 years old, she dreamed of nothing more than joining the army and leaving her hometown of St. Louis to “start living life.”

Four years later, she was sexually assaulted by a fellow soldier while serving in South Korea. Despite the devastating emotional and physical aftereffects, Peacock decided to speak in public for the first time since her attack at the UCLA School of Law on Monday.

Sponsored by the National Women’s Law Student Organization and the Public Interest Law and Policy Program, the discussion titled “Fighting Sexual Assault in the Military: Angie’s Story” centered on the experiences of both Peacock and U.S. Navy veteran Maricela Guzman, another sexual assault survivor.