Criminalization

Partnership for Safety and Justice believes public safety is best served by promoting policies that rely on youth going through juvenile court rather than the adult criminal court system. Adolescence is defined as the transitional time in which a child is becoming, but is not yet, an adult. Our human brain is not fully developed until our early twenties. Treating youth as if they are adults in the criminal justice system just doesn't make sense.

With 2.2 million people in prisons and jails across the country, are we any safer? A new report from the Vera Institute of Justice, Reconsidering Incarceration: New Directions for Reducing Crime, shows that there’s not a clear connection between incarceration and public safety. What would make us safer? The report shows that increasing high school graduation rates and decreasing unemployment are better investments than prison for decreasing crime.

By July of 2006, Oregon is scheduled to have an online list of state residents who have been convicted of sex crimes. Before Governor Ted Kulongoski signed the bill in October that required the Oregon State Police to create the web site, the only states without similar sites were Oregon and South Dakota.

Seattle, Portland, and parts of Alaska will issue electronic ankle bracelets to some immigrants facing deportation. The thick black band and attached box must be worn at all times.

Prison Union Seeks Ouster of Chief of Corrections, Dip in Inmate Population Worries Officials, Dying to Get Out