Lisa Thurau: Why Police Need to Understand Trauma

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The girl is maybe 15 years old? She is standing in the back of a building, or maybe it’s an alley way.  She has her arms wrapped around her body and her teeth are chattering.  When the officer approaches and tells her to leave the alley way she shakes her head and refuses.  The officer moves in closer and reiterates his order to leave. Suddenly the girl is lunging at him, screaming, “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! Get away from me!”  She is pushing her hands out at him, then pointing her finger at the officer, ordering him to keep his distance.

Supreme Court Gives Juveniles Protection in Police Interrogations

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[This article was reprinted with permission from YouthToday]

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in a 5-4 decision that said a police officer must take a child’s age into consideration when determining whether to issue a Miranda warning to a juvenile suspect. The case, J.D.B.v. North Carolina is the latest in a string of cases in which the high court has applied protection to certain groups of juveniles. The court banned the juvenile death penalty in the 2005 Roper v. Simmons case, and last year ruled in Graham v. Florida that life without parole sentences were unconstitutional for juveniles convicted of any crime other than homicide. “This represents the court’s settled commitment to its view that kids are different,” said Marsha Levick, deputy director and co-founder of the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center. “It’s just a further shoring up of that direction they’ve been moving in for last several years.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority, said, “So long as the child’s age was known to the officer, or would have been objectively apparent to a reasonable officer,” law enforcement and the courts must factor age into a decision to give a Miranda warning to a juvenile suspect.

Fighting Gang Violence with Research and Empirical Evidence

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ORLANDO, Fla, - Frontline practitioners working on gang prevention, intervention and suppression are gathered this week for the National Gang Symposium in Orlando, Fla. For prevention, think of the Boys & Girls Club. For intervention, think of the Los Angeles-based Homeboy Industries, whose motto is “nothing stops a bullet like a job.” And for suppression, well, of course, think of the police. The number crunchers from the National Gang Center, using their own just released data, are telling symposium attendees today that gangs remain a substantial problem in the nation. However, gang levels are lower than the peak levels in the mid-1990s, and law enforcement agencies reported gang activity in their jurisdictions at about the same levels for five straight years – all this during a time when overall violence is way down.

Child Prostitutes as Crime Victims

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A startling number of children, as young as 12, are forced into prostitution in the U.S.   The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates 100,000 – 300,000 children a year are lured or kidnapped, and forced into the sex trade.   Many are runaways or homeless kids who are raped, threatened, and moved from city to city for financial gain. The BBC reports police are not acting quickly enough to help these children. One girl in Washington, D.C. says police pointed guns at her, called her a “whore” and bullied her.  Advocates for children say these kids need support and police should recognize they are victims.

Of the girls engaged in formal prostitution, about 75% work for a pimp, according to the Department of Justice, which paints this picture of the sex trade:

"Pimp-controlled commercial sexual exploitation of children is linked to escort and massage services, private dancing, drinking and photographic clubs, major sporting and recreational events,  conventions, and tourist destinations. About one-fifth of these children become entangled in nationally organized crime networks and are trafficked nationally. They are transported around the United States by a variety of means – cars, buses, vans, trucks or planes, and are often provided counterfeit identification to use in the event of arrest. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14. It is not only the girls on the streets that are affected -- for boys and transgender youth, the average age of entry into prostitution is 11-13." ______________

photo courtesy: davidsonscott15

Big Brother to Watch Kids in School

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Police in Pennsylvania will soon be watching live feeds from wireless school security cameras. The Franklin Regional school District has 128 cameras in five schools.  Murrysville Police will be able to watch those cameras online, plus access floor plans in an emergency.  The fire department and Emergency Management Office will also have access through a secure server.  The system, funded by a $100,000 grant, is expected to go live next January. Parents are concerned the live camera feeds might be used by police to watch their children without cause, or do surveillance.  The story in Government Technology Magazine does not fully address legal and privacy issues, or what steps will be taken to prevent hackers from tapping into the system.  But the school district is expected to create policies on who will have access to the server and when.  All access will be tracked and monitored.  And school officials say the system will not be linked to student records or personnel information.

Criminologist Warns Police to Prioritize Delinquents

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Police departments respond to juvenile delinquency in many different ways, but Criminologist James F. Hodgson says they are often reactive, and a low priority.  The Professor of Criminal Justice at Virginia State University warns the number of teenagers in the U.S. could jump by 21% in the next 30 years, and they will need more attention.  He assesses current juvenile policing policies across the country.  And he argues for more pro-active and re-active programs, urging police departments to prioritize innovative programs for children. Read more about his study here.