Archive: Jun 2006

michael bischoff at the council on crime and Justice sends word of their search for a new director of projects to provide leadership on early intervention and prevention projects. they seek someone with “passion and talent for finding innovative ways to prevent crime, reduce racial disparities, and build partnerships.” The salary range for the position will be $45,000 – $60,000. you can learn more about the council at www.crimeandJustice.org.

Director of Projects

Organization: The Council on Crime and Justice is a non-profit agency committed to building community capacity to address the causes and consequences of crime and violence through research, demonstration and advocacy.

Position Responsibilities: The Director of Projects will provide leadership over 2 or more demonstration projects. Projects may include re-entry, alternative sentencing, victim services and youth early intervention. Key responsibilities include: managing project staff and activities, furthering implementation of the demonstration model, developing and implementing work plans, interpreting the projects and services to the community, working with the Research Dept. to evaluate projects, completing required reporting, pursuing grant and marketing opportunities, developing new projects and/or enhancing existing projects, developing and monitoring budgets, providing back-up support to other Director of Projects, and participating as a member of management.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree, graduate or professional degree preferred and 3-5 years experience in project management and development, or equivalent education and experience sufficient to perform the responsibilities. Skilled in supervision and coaching. Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to establish effective relationships with all stakeholders. Ability to provide leadership over teams, as well as, be an active participant. Strong problem solving and conflict negotiation skills. Ability to have both a broad conceptualization and an understanding of details. Skilled at strategic thinking. Invested and motivated to move forward with organizational agenda. Committed to remaining informed and learning about leadership theories, project development and project specific information. Ability to work effectively across cultures and demonstrate sensitivity to ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability and faith.

Classification: Full-time, Exempt position with competitive compensation package

To Apply: Submit resume and cover letter by Friday, June 30, 2006 to hr@crimeandJustice.org or Council on Crime and Justice, 822 South 3rd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415

the council on crime and Justice is holding a public criminology conference on their racial disparity initiative on june 28 in minneapolis. over the past five years, the council has written 17 reports on race and Justice. they are now pulling them together to summarize the knowledge and hammer out some action steps.

the panels have representatives from an incredibly diverse set of institutions and publics, though not everyone will show up. there are ex-offenders, clergypersons, social workers, attorneys, community residents, businesspersons, and academics. mayors rybak of minneapolis and coleman of st. paul are on the program, as are st. paul’s police chief john harrington and minneapolis’ assistant chief sharon lubinski, minneapolis school superintendent bill green, state supreme court Justice alan page, and judge kevin burke of hennepin county district court.

as for criminologists, michael tonry will serve on a panel discussing causes of the disparity, todd clear will be in the collateral consequences group, and i’m on the action steps and ethics panel. i probably won’t say much, since my panel is scheduled to include a republican state senator, business folk, police officers, case workers, and don shelby, local anchor god. it should be fun. or a free-for-all. or both.

anyone interested in racial disparities in Justice might find something interesting on the program. you can register online, for a suggested donation of $20. attorneys can get CLE elimination of bias and ethics credits but need to kick in more money (sorry, angie). tom johnson of the council is expecting a pretty good crowd. the conference is june 28 at minneapolis community and technical college, 1501 hennepin avenue.

according to david chanen and myron medcalf of the minneapolis strib, the fbi’s final 2005 numbers will show a sharp local increase in violent crime. while murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault rose about 2 percent nationwide over 2004, these violent index offenses increased by 35 percent in minneapolis.

it is not uncommon for local homicide numbers to fluctuate dramatically from year to year due to the small numbers involved. a move of this magnitude in a broader index that includes robbery and aggravated assault, however, is much more unusual.

my first instinct is to check for changes in law and reporting procedures. for example, a recent state “strangulation” statute means that a large number of domestic assault cases (hundreds?) once considered misdemeanors are now counted among the aggravated assaults in the violent crime index. i was surpised that neither the writers nor the interim police chief, tim dolan, mentioned this in the article. not surprisingly, chief dolan mentioned the declining number of mpd officers. when i got back to town in the mid-1990s, i believe there were almost 1,000 sworn officers (i know because bridget cleary, an undergrad student, surveyed them), about 200 more than today.

i’ve personally received many more calls about robberies this year, particularly in more affluent uptown and downtown neighborhoods. yes, the broader twin cities metro area remains quite safe by national standards and minnesota is ranked among the safest states. moreover, like most cities, minneapolis is today far safer than it was a decade ago. nevertheless, if these numbers hold up, it is a shame to see the city lose so much ground in such a short period.

according to david chanen and myron medcalf of the minneapolis strib, the fbi’s final 2005 numbers will show a sharp local increase in violent crime. while murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault rose about 2 percent nationwide over 2004, these violent index offenses increased by 35 percent in minneapolis.

it is not uncommon for local homicide numbers to fluctuate dramatically from year to year due to the small numbers involved. a move of this magnitude in a broader index that includes robbery and aggravated assault, however, is much more unusual.

my first instinct is to check for changes in law and reporting procedures. for example, a recent state “strangulation” statute means that a large number of domestic assault cases (hundreds?) once considered misdemeanors are now counted among the aggravated assaults in the violent crime index. i was surpised that neither the writers nor the interim police chief, tim dolan, mentioned this in the article. not surprisingly, chief dolan mentioned the declining number of mpd officers. when i got back to town in the mid-1990s, i believe there were almost 1,000 sworn officers (i know because bridget cleary, an undergrad student, surveyed them), about 200 more than today.

i’ve personally received many more calls about robberies this year, particularly in more affluent uptown and downtown neighborhoods. yes, the broader twin cities metro area remains quite safe by national standards and minnesota is ranked among the safest states. moreover, like most cities, minneapolis is today far safer than it was a decade ago. nevertheless, if these numbers hold up, it is a shame to see the city lose so much ground in such a short period.

under what conditions would you have your teenage kids arrested?

my local sheriff bob fletcher ordered his 17-year old son arrested on tuesday, after his ex-wife found the teenager passed out among syringes and other paraphernalia. sheriff fletcher is the most powerful elected law enforcement official in ramsey county, which includes the capitol city of st. paul in its jurisdiction.

many are criticizing the sheriff, saying that such matters are best handled in the home or with voluntary drug treatment. some cynical observers are even suggesting that sheriff fletcher ordered the arrest because he was up for re-election this fall and wished to appear “tough on crime.” i can’t imagine anyone raising teenagers would make such accusations, but people are willing to believe anything about elected officials. here’s the sheriff:

“I love my son dearly, but right now, the best place for him is in the criminal Justice system,” he said. “The message I want to talk about is how important it is for parents not to defend their kid but to hold them accountable and to make the call, whether that call is to a crisis connection or a treatment center or a law enforcement agency.”

i guess i would only make such a call if my children posed an imminent threat to themselves or others and my own efforts had failed to address the threat. i can’t say whether this position would change if i were a sworn law enforcement officer, but i’d be capable of desperate action if i thought either of my kids were closing in on a fatal overdose. still, i think that scrutinizing the parents in such cases smacks of misplaced “piling on.” these are families in pain, who have worked their way up a ladder of graduated treatment and punishment and now find themselves on the top rung with nothing to grab hold of.

i’m sad to admit that at 16 i once put my parents in a similar position. i can’t say that i’m glad they called the police and had me arrested, but i know they didn’t make the decision lightly and that they were desperately trying to act in my best interests. like the sheriff’s kid, i had all the advantages of middle-class resources and parental support; everything turned out more-or-less okay for me. unlike the sheriff’s kid, i was never charged with two felony counts for heroin and cocaine possession and gross misdemeanor escape. nor was my family drama played out in public.

every year, hundreds of adolescents and their families make their way through such trouble in ramsey county alone. here’s hoping that in twenty-five years most of them will also be able to say “everything turned out more-or-less okay.”

under what conditions would you have your teenage kids arrested?

my local sheriff bob fletcher ordered his 17-year old son arrested on tuesday, after his ex-wife found the teenager passed out among syringes and other paraphernalia. sheriff fletcher is the most powerful elected law enforcement official in ramsey county, which includes the capitol city of st. paul in its jurisdiction.

many are criticizing the sheriff, saying that such matters are best handled in the home or with voluntary drug treatment. some cynical observers are even suggesting that sheriff fletcher ordered the arrest because he was up for re-election this fall and wished to appear “tough on crime.” i can’t imagine anyone raising teenagers would make such accusations, but people are willing to believe anything about elected officials. here’s the sheriff:

“I love my son dearly, but right now, the best place for him is in the criminal Justice system,” he said. “The message I want to talk about is how important it is for parents not to defend their kid but to hold them accountable and to make the call, whether that call is to a crisis connection or a treatment center or a law enforcement agency.”

i guess i would only make such a call if my children posed an imminent threat to themselves or others and my own efforts had failed to address the threat. i can’t say whether this position would change if i were a sworn law enforcement officer, but i’d be capable of desperate action if i thought either of my kids were closing in on a fatal overdose. still, i think that scrutinizing the parents in such cases smacks of misplaced “piling on.” these are families in pain, who have worked their way up a ladder of graduated treatment and punishment and now find themselves on the top rung with nothing to grab hold of.

i’m sad to admit that at 16 i once put my parents in a similar position. i can’t say that i’m glad they called the police and had me arrested, but i know they didn’t make the decision lightly and that they were desperately trying to act in my best interests. like the sheriff’s kid, i had all the advantages of middle-class resources and parental support; everything turned out more-or-less okay for me. unlike the sheriff’s kid, i was never charged with two felony counts for heroin and cocaine possession and gross misdemeanor escape. nor was my family drama played out in public.

every year, hundreds of adolescents and their families make their way through such trouble in ramsey county alone. here’s hoping that in twenty-five years most of them will also be able to say “everything turned out more-or-less okay.”