The portal site for “DC Public Safety” is http://media.csosa.gov .

Current Radio Program:

The program interviews Terrence D. Walton, Director of Treatment and Michael McGuiness, Deputy Director of Treatment for the Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia. “Pretrial” is an independent agency within the administrative structure of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency. Both are federal executive branch agencies in Washington, D.C.

The focus of the program is the necessity of treatment in the pretrial supervision of defendants.

The website for Pretrial is http://www.psa.gov.

Special Announcements:

The National Reentry Resource Center is a project of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Please see the Center’s website at http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/. Please see “Federal Interagency Reentry Council Launches Website, Releases Myth-Buster Series” on the front page of the site (see announcements). CSOSA is a member of the Council.

Several requesters have asked for national research on reentry. The Office of Justice Program’s National Institute of Justice reentry research portfolio supports the evaluation of innovative reentry programs. To access these studies and NIJ’s entire reentry research portfolio visit www.nij.gov/nij/topics/corrections/reentry/welcome.htm .

The Louisiana Department of Corrections/Division of Probation and Parole is offering radio shows on offender reentry. Please visit their website at http://doc.la.gov/pages/reentry-initiatives/reentry-radio/ .

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency:

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov .

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is http://www.csosa.gov/.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes.

Comments offered on “DC Public Safety” television and radio programs are the opinions of participants and do not necessarily represent the policies of CSOSA or other government agencies.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts.

Current Radio Program:

The program interviews Will Marling, Executive Director of the National Association for Victim Assistance and Tim Murray, the Executive Director of the Pretrial Justice Institute. The topic is victim rights within the pretrial process.

Pretrial involves decisions as to releasing a person arrested (a defendant) or incarcerating the individual in a jail until the trial date. Pretrial release may involve bail based on money ordered posted by the court to prompt a defendant’s appearance (often with minimal or no supervision) at trial or release to a pretrial services agency who will supervise and/or drug test the defendant until the date of the trial.

Release decisions are made by a judge, often with input from court officials or a recommendation from parole and probation or pretrial service agencies. The principle issues involve the defendants perceived risk to public safety, the probability of appearing for trial and risks to victims.

The discussion involved the rights of victims regarding the decision to release and the process of supervision.

The District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency (part of the administrative structure of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency) is considered to be one of the best pretrial service agencies in the country.

The website for the National Organization for Victim Assistance is http://www.trynova.org. The website for the Pretrial Justice Institute is http://www.pretrial.org. The website for the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency is http://www.dcpsca.gov/.

Special Announcements:

The National Reentry Resource Center is a project of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Please see the Center’s website at http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/ . Please see “Federal Interagency Reentry Council Launches Website, Releases Myth-Buster Series” on the front page of the site (see announcements). CSOSA is a member of the Council.

“DC Public Safety” is offering statements of support in radio and television programs for  the American Probation and Parole Association’s (APPA) ”Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week” throughout the spring and summer. The week is celebrated from July 17 to July 23. The website for the American Probation and Parole Association is http://www.appa-net.org .

The Louisiana Department of Corrections/Division of Probation and Parole is offering radio shows on reentry. Please visit their website at http://doc.la.gov/pages/reentry-initiatives/reentry-radio/ .

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency:

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov or at Twitter at http://twitter.com/lensipes.

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is http://www.csosa.gov/.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes.

Comments offered on “DC Public Safety” television and radio programs are the opinions of participants and do  not necessarily represent the  policies of CSOSA or other government agencies.

Seeking Justice from Crestock Stock Photos

Welcome to DC Public Safety – Radio and Television shows on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts.

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov or at Twitter at http://twitter.com/lensipes.

The program interviews Judge Milton Lee and Judge Melvin Wright of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Both addressed the need for and application of special courts and the expected results as to protecting public safety.

Examples of special courts include:

1. Housing Court
2. Prostitution Court
3. Fathering Court
4. Drug Courts (one each for adult and juvenile populations)
5. Mental Health Court
6. Community Court (in two sections of the city)
7. Traffic Court

The website for the Superior Court is http://dccourts.gov

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is www.csosa.gov.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2011/05/special-courts-in-washington-d-c-dc-public-safety-radio/

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes.

Comments offered on “DC Public Safety” television and radio programs are the opinions of participants and do  not necessarily represent the  policies of CSOSA or other government agencies.

Welcome to DC Public Safety – Radio and Television shows on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts.

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov or at Twitter at http://twitter.com/lensipes.

The program interviews Carline Claudomir and Amanda Rocha, both Community Supervision Officers (known elsewhere as parole and probation agents). Both addressed probation drug court in Washington, D.C. The Superior Court of the District of Columbia operates drug courts in D.C. See http://www.dccourts.gov/.

Drug court in D.C. involves offenders on probation with substance abuse backgrounds. The program offers treatment and an array of additional programs. Problems during supervision mandate immediate intermediate sanctions (including incarceration for short periods of time). Successful completion of the program could result in early termination of probation.

There is a pretrial version of drug court via CSOSA’s sister agency; the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency. Both are federal, executive branch agencies.

For additional information on drug courts, see www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/enforce/drugcourt.html

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2011/01/drug-courts-in-washington-d-c-%e2%80%9cdc-public-safety%e2%80%9d/

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is www.csosa.gov.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes.

Welcome to DC Public Safety – radio and television shows on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts. We now average 200,000 requests a month.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2010/05/iowa-jail-based-substance-abuse-treatment-project-ncja-dc-public-safety/

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov or at Twitter at http://twitter.com/lensipes.

The program interviews:

• Lonnie Cleland, Program Planner, Iowa Department of Public Health, Jail-Based Substance Abuse Treatment Project Coordinator
• Leesa McNeil, District Court Administrator in Woodbury County, Iowa
• Kim Brangoccio. Clinical Director, United Community Services

The state of Iowa has seen tremendous success in re-arrest, abstinence, and employment rates among offenders following the implementation of a four-county Jail-Based Substance Abuse Treatment Project (J-BT Project). The program is designed to treat problems associated with both substance abuse and criminal thinking.

In the last six years, the project has served 2,006 patients. Of the ex-offenders who successfully completed treatment and were interviewed 12 months following their admission, 78.5 percent were clean, 91.9 percent had not been arrested, and 68.2 percent were employed full time.

The website for the Iowa program is http://www.idph.state.ia.us/bh/substance_abuse_jail.asp.

The website for the National Criminal Justice Association is http://www.ncja.org.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes.

Welcome to DC Public Safety – radio and television shows on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts. We now average 228,000 requests a month.

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov or at Twitter at http://twitter.com/lensipes.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2010/05/using-civil-court-for-acts-of-domestic-violence/

The program interviews Cathy Church, Executive Director of Justice Access Now in Marquette County, Michigan and “Elaine,” a victim of domestic violence. “Elaine” is a business owner, active community member and is on the board of Justice Accesss Now.

The program address the use of civil courts to protect victims of domestic violence.

The website for Justice Access Now is www.justiceaccessnow.org. Ms Church is also the author of “Intimate and Domestic Violence Homicides in the News” blog at http://domesticviolencenews.blogspot.com. She is a partner in a Michigan law firm.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes.

Terms: domestic violence, civil court, spouse abuse, intimate violence

Welcome to DC Public Safety – radio and television shows on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts. We now average 228,000 requests a month.

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov or at Twitter at http://twitter.com/lensipes.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2010/05/crime-victim-rights-and-the-courts-dc-public-safety-nova/

The program interviews Will Marling, Executive Director of the National Organization for Victim Assistance and The Honorable Richard Barajas, Chief Justice, Senior Status, Texas Court of Appeals. Both addressed a judicial view of victim rights.

The program was produced by the National Organization for Victim Assistance. The website for NOVA is www.trynova.org.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes.

Terms: court, judicial, victim, victim rights, crime victim, judge, NOVA

Welcome to DC Public Safety – radio and television shows on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts. We now average 228,000 requests a month.

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov or at Twitter at http://twitter.com/lensipes.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2010/05/berks-county-reentry-success-dc-public-safety-ncja-230000-requests-a-month/

The show interviews Scott Rehr, Executive Director of the Berks County (PA) Community Reentry Program; Tim Daley, Criminal Justice Program Director for the Berks County Office of Court Administration and Warden George Wagner of the Berks County Jail System.

Program results: 69 percent of the participants have stayed out of jail and 64 percent are employed.

The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) produced this program. NCJA seeks exemplary programs that significantly improve the administration of justice. The Berks County program received an award from NCJA.

The web site for the National Criminal Justice Association is www.ncja.org. the website for the reentry program is www.berksconnections.org.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes.

Terms: Berks County, reentry, Berks Connections, jails, courts

Welcome to DC Public Safety – radio and television shows on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/?p=187

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov or at Twitter at twitter.com/lensipes.

The production is the third in a series on exemplary programs from the National Criminal Justice Association.

The show features an interview with Commissioner Denise O’Donnell of the NY Division of Criminal Justice Services, Greg Berman, director of the Center for Court Innovation and Judge Alex Calabrese, presiding judge at the Red Hook Community Justice Center.

The Red Hook Community Justice Center is an ambitious experiment in problem-solving justice. Located in a low-income community in southwest Brooklyn, the Justice Center is a community court that handles criminal, family and housing cases in one courtroom in front of a single judge. Rather than simply processing cases, the Justice Center actively seeks to solve neighborhood problems, including drugs, delinquency and quality-of-life crime.

The Justice Center combines punishment and help by offering a broad range of sanctions, including community restitution projects and on-site social services (drug treatment, job training, mental health counseling and others). The Justice Center also works to prevent problems from becoming court cases, using the courthouse as the launching pad for a range of unconventional programs. These programs include an AmeriCorps program that engages 50 local residents each year in community service; youth development programs that provide leadership opportunities for local teens; and a youth court that seeks to intervene at the first signs of trouble in a young person’s life.

Researchers have documented that the Justice Center has helped improve compliance with court orders, reduce levels of neighborhood fear and enhance perceptions of fairness among defendants. Red Hook, once cited as one of the 10 most crack-infested neighborhoods in the country by Life magazine, is now home to the safest police precinct in Brooklyn. The subject of a PBS documentary, the Justice Center is being replicated in more than six dozen cities around the world. The Justice Center is the product of a Byrne/ JAG-funded public private partnership that includes the Center for Court Innovation, the New York State Unified Court System and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

http://www.courtinnovation.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageID=572

The show is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barnes. Bethany Broida, Communications Manager for the National Criminal Justice Association produced the program for NCJA.

Meta terms: Courts, crime, criminals, criminal justice, parole, probation, prison