Crime Archives - Page 7 of 10 - Georgia Public Policy Foundation

Criminal Justice Council Gets Civil Asset Forfeiture Assignment

posted 5 years ago on August 16th, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

By Mike Klein MIKE KLEINEditor, Georgia Public Policy Foundation Governor Nathan Deal has raised the ante on civil asset forfeiture reform next year by formally asking the new Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform to bring forward its own recommendation – and he means before the General Assembly returns in January. Ten new members and five holdovers from last year’s Council were told about civil asset forfeiture reform during their initial meeting Thursday afternoon at the State Capitol. Civil asset forfeiture reform was perhaps the most contentious issue in the 2013 General Assembly. House Bill 1 would have limited the power sheriffs and district attorneys have to seize the assets of people who have been convicted of no crime, convert… View Article

Juvenile Justice Folks are in the Fixing Families Business

posted 5 years ago on May 7th, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

By Mike Klein Mike KleinEditor. Georgia Public Policy Foundation This idea is almost too obvious: Fix families and you might alleviate pressure on overburdened state justice systems as there might be fewer folks showing up in juvenile and adult criminal courts. This week the Campaign for Youth and Justice echoed that idea in a new report that states: “Given the history of the juvenile justice system, which has historically kept families at arm’s length, coupled with organizational and fiscal challenges facing agencies today, it is not surprising that many justice systems are struggling to meet the needs of families.” The Family Comes First executive summary further states that despite legitimate efforts to improve outcomes, “what has been missing is a… View Article

Broken Families, Parents Without Skills, Kids in Juvenile Justice

posted 5 years ago on May 7th, 2013 by admin 1 Comment

Published May 3, 2013 By Mike Klein Mike KleinEditor, Georgia Public Policy Foundation One of the primary architects of the special council recommendations that became the basis for this year’s juvenile justice reform legislation says the primary reason that thousands of juveniles enter the legal system each year is because they come from dysfunctional families. “Most of the kids we’re seeing today in most courts are kids in which we have broken families, most of them have single parents, most of those are mothers and there are poor or very weak problem solving skills, not just among the young people but also their parents,” Clayton County Juvenile Court Chief Judge Steven Teske told the Georgia Public Policy Foundation this week.… View Article

Digital Learning, Re-Entry Lead Next Justice Reform Priorities

posted 5 years ago on May 7th, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Published May 1, 2013 By Mike Klein Mike Klein, EditorGeorgia Public Policy Foundation Georgia’s next justice reform priorities will start with expanded digital learning in juvenile sectors and increased focus on transitioning paroled adult inmates back into society with more than a few bucks and a bus ticket. Governor Nathan Deal discussed these priorities during an Atlanta speech on Tuesday, two days before he is scheduled to sign juvenile justice reform legislation. Deal said the state will partner with Provost Academy Georgia to provide digital learning resources to juveniles, starting with some 140 who participate in the Georgia National Guard Youth Challenge programs at Fort Gordon near Augusta and Fort Stewart in Hinesville. “These are young men and women who… View Article

Second Adult Criminal Justice Reform Bill Becomes Law

posted 5 years ago on April 25th, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

By Mike Klein Mike Klein, EditorGeorgia Public Policy Foundation Governor Nathan Deal on Thursday signed an adult criminal justice reform bill that revises minimum mandatory sentencing laws, expands the state’s right to evidence appeals and creates a new Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Commission that will remain on-the-watch until 2023. In sum, the state will continue to consider criminal justice best practices for another ten years. The House Bill 349 signing ceremony was held in Marietta where Deal said, “When I first became Governor I was concerned about something that I was told Republicans shouldn’t really be concerned about and that was the fact that we were the tenth largest state in population but that we had the fourth largest prison… View Article

Georgia Can Lead Again on Juvenile Justice Reform

posted 5 years ago on March 26th, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

By Newt Gingrich and Kelly McCutchen Newt Gingrich Kelly McCutchen Years of profound dysfunction in Washington have eroded Americans’ confidence in government. Our national leaders have lost virtually all their credibility when it comes to addressing society’s most pressing challenges. Fortunately, just as our Founders intended, states are increasingly finding innovative policy solutions for many of these problems. Can you imagine Congress ever accomplishing such a feat? Now Georgia has the opportunity to apply those same conservative convictions to its juvenile justice system by adopting the recommendations of the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform. After months of research last year, the bipartisan Council produced proposals that will stop wasteful government spending and help more of Georgia’s young offenders fulfill… View Article

Health Care is Key to Rehabilitation
As Female Incarceration Rates Explode

posted 5 years ago on March 15th, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Albert Woodard By Albert Woodard The campaign in Georgia and in many states for adult and juvenile criminal justice reform has highlighted an alarming trend: Women represent a small portion of the prison population but their numbers are rising rapidly, with serious consequences for the children and communities they leave behind. The number of women incarcerated in the United States since 1990 has jumped an astounding 92 percent and shows no sign of receding. In fact, according to a recent study at the Northeastern College of Criminal Justice, prison rates for women are increasing faster than for men. The reasons for this increase are numerous, ranging from their historical offenses of larceny, forgery, embezzlement and prostitution, as well as… View Article

Pew Poll: Solid Real World Support for Juvenile Justice Reform

posted 5 years ago on March 12th, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

By Mike Klein Mike Klein, EditorGeorgia Public Policy Foundation Georgians appear ready to embrace juvenile justice reforms that would focus the state’s lock-ups on higher-level offenders and put new emphasis on less expensive and more effective community resources for lower-level offenders. And by Georgians, we mean folks out there in the real world, well beyond the State Capitol in Atlanta. A newly released poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and the Mellman Group for the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Public Safety Performance Project found proposed reforms in HB 242 enjoy widespread support among conservatives, liberals and independents. The bill would enact recommendations from the 2012 Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform. HB 242 is scheduled for its first Senate hearing on… View Article

Georgia House Votes 173-0 to Pass Juvenile Justice Bill

posted 5 years ago on February 27th, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

By Mike Klein Mike Klein, EditorGeorgia Public Policy Foundation The Georgia House voted 173 – 0 Thursday morning to pass juvenile justice and civil code reforms that would dramatically change our response to young people who commit crimes, run away, violate probation or who are in desperate need of services. HB 242, the biggest rethink in Georgia juvenile strategies in decades, is a massive 244-page bill that would rewrite juvenile justice and civil code. Now the bill moves to the Senate. (Watch the House floor discussion and vote.) Friday the House is scheduled to vote on HB 349, companion legislation for the adult system that would change the minimum mandatory sentencing laws for drug trafficking and other serious felony… View Article

New Criminal Justice Reform Council Proposed Through 2023

posted 5 years ago on February 20th, 2013 by admin 1 Comment

By Mike Klein Mike Klein, EditorGeorgia Public Policy Foundation Georgia would establish an ongoing criminal justice reform council to oversee adult and juvenile justice issues in the state as part of proposed sentencing and corrections legislation being considered by policymakers this session. In addition, adult criminal court judges would be allowed to depart from minimum mandatory sentences in a significantly small number of drug trafficking cases under legislation now before a House committee. Many of the provisions in HB 349, now before a House committee, were developed by the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform. The Special Council’s juvenile justice recommendations are contained in HB 242. This week will be important for both pieces of legislation. Tuesday afternoon,… View Article

Category: Crime