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

Current Radio Program:

The program interviews Lamont Cary, a former offender (11 years incarcerated) turned advocate for those leaving prison. Lamont has appeared in Home Box Office (HBO) and BET productions and numerous media interviews in the United States and beyond. He wrote “The Hill,” a fictional book about a man’s journey through prison. He is currently producing a video titled “Outside the Gate.”

The website for Mr. Carey is http://www.lamontcarey.com.

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.

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.

Choice from Crestock Stock Photography

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 J. Michael Brown, the Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet for the state of Kentucky. The Justice and Public Safety Cabinet has a combined law enforcement and corrections mission.

Kentucky has been the recipient of state and national news coverage regarding a restructuring of the state’s criminal justice system. The Wall Street Journal on March 5, 2011 stated that changes include “…increasing spending on rehabilitation programs and intensive drug testing. The law also reduces penalties for many drug offenses…”

The Louisville Courier-Journal stated on March 3, 2011 that enabling legislation …”passed the House and Senate with only one dissenting vote in the House.”

The Bowling Green Daily News on January 8, 2011 declared in a headline,”State’s Two-Year Recidivism Rate Hits 10-year Low.”

We interviewed Secretary Brown as to the progression of analysis to implementation to results.

The website for Justice and Public Safety Cabinet for the state of Kentucky is www.justice.ky.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/kentuckys-recidivism-rate-hits-10-year-low-dc-public-safety/

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/alliance-of-concerned-men-dc-public-safety-200000-requests-a-month/

The program interviews Tyrone Parker, the Executive Director of the Alliance of Concerned Men in Washington, D.C. The Alliance represents and advocates for former offenders. The Alliance also provides direct services such as gang violence intervention, efforts to promote responsible fathering, after school programs, absconder programs, life skills, substance abuse, leadership and other programs.

Mr. Parker states that the bottom-line of all efforts is public safety or the creation of a safer society. The website for the Alliance is www.allianceofconcernedmen.com.

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

Terms: previously incarcerated people, ex-offenders, offenders, public safety

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

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

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2010/05/offenders-assigned-to-day-reporting-dc-public-safety-228000-requests-a-month/

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

The show interviews Walter Hagins, Program Manager of the Day Reporting Center for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) in Washington, D.C. Also interviewed were two offenders currently assigned to the Day Reporting Center. We did not use the names of offenders for this program.

The Day Reporting Center provides an alternative to incarceration for technical violations such as not gaining employment or missing appointments with staff. Offenders are referred to the Center when they do not comply with the terms of parole or probation.

The Center provides intervention services such as employment readiness, substance abuse, life skills, anger management and many additional interventions.

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

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts. We now average 196,000 requests per 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/assisting-women-offenders-harriet%E2%80%99s-house-ncja-dc-public-safety/

The show interviews participants of Harriet’s House, a program serving women offenders with a low rate of recidivism (returns to the criminal justice system) and high rates of employment in Raleigh, NC. The program received recognition from the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA). A mission of the NCJA is to recognize exemplary programs and bring them to the attention of the public.

Those interviewed include Jeanne Tedrow, founder of Harriet’s House, Lisa Crosslin, Program Director, Cheryl Bryant, Grants Management Specialist for the North Carolina Crime Commission and Michelle Bridges, a graduate of Harriet’s House and a board member.

The website for the National Criminal Justice Association is www.ncja.org. The website for Harriet’s House is www.passagehome.org.

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

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts. We now average 170,000 requests per 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/relapse-prevention-and-drug-treatment%E2%80%93dc-public-safety/

The show interviews Christine Keels, the Director of Faith-based Initiatives for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), Tosha Chambers, one of three citywide faith-based coordinators for CSOSA and a group facilitator, and Jennifer Gaskins, who was once an offender under CSOSA’s supervision who now assists women in drug relapse prevention groups.

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

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows, blog and transcripts. We now average 135,000 requests per month.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2010/05/an-interview-with-women-offenders%E2%80%93dc-public-safety/

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

The show interviews Supervisory Community Supervision Officer Dr. Willa Butler and three female offenders currently under the supervision of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency in Washington, D.C. The offenders present anonymously. They discuss their crimes, drug addictions, children, histories of child abuse, relationships with men and their lives up to this point.

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

Meta terms: Women offenders, female offenders, child abuse, drugs,  violence, violence reduction, violence prevention, crime, criminals, criminal justice, prison, incarceration, parole, probation, corrections

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

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/?p=202

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

The show addresses the Violence Reduction Program within the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA). Those interviewed include: Bryan Young, Violence Reduction Program Manager, Michelle Hare-Diggs, Treatment Specialist and Lisa Silor, Community Supervision Officer (all CSOSA employees).

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

Meta terms: violence, violence reduction, violence prevention, crime, criminals, criminal justice, prison, incarceration, parole, probation, corrections,

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

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2010/05/offender-reentry-second-chance-act-usdoj-dc-public-safety/

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

The show interviews Dr. Gary Dennis of the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance regarding the Second Chance Act which assists offenders returning from prison. Provisions of the Second Chance Act include:

Demonstration grants-25 million dollars of approximately 18-20 $750,000 allotments which require a 50 percent match by the jurisdiction for a possible three year time period. Grants must be applied for by April 20, 2009. State and local government can apply.

Mentoring grants-10 million dollars to non-profit agencies for allotments lasting two years. No match is required. Guidelines will be published soon.

For additional information, please see www.grants.gov. Contact Gary Dennis at 202-305-9059 or gary.dennis@usdoj.gov.

The web site for the Bureau of Justice Assistance is www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bja

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

Meta terms: Second Chance Act, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, reentry, criminal justice, leadership, crime, criminals, criminal justice

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

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

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

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/?p=75

The program provides an interview with Eddie Ellis, a former offender who was the subject of a front-page article in the Washington Post. Mr. Ellis developed a guide for ex-offenders. The article is available on our web site at www.csosa.gov.

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

Meta terms: crime, criminals, criminal justice, parole, probation, prison, drug treatment, reentry, sex offenders, domestic violence, anger management, corrections, high-risk offenders, GPS, satellite tracking,faith-based.

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

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/?p=72

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

The program provides an interview with Carolyn Harper, Chief of Staff, Mayor’s Office for the Reentry of Ex-Offenders and Keith Leaphart, President of the Leaphart Group discussing offender reentry during a visit to CSOSA.

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

Meta terms: crime, criminals, criminal justice, parole, probation, prison, drug treatment, reentry, sex offenders, domestic violence, anger management, corrections, high-risk offenders, GPS, satellite tracking,faith-based.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/?p=55

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

The program provides a discussion of offenders returning to the community after prison. Our guest is Eddie Ellis.

Please see the categories file of this show (on right) to listen to additional offender interviews discussing programs and reentry .

The show is hosted by Leonard Sipes.

Meta terms: crime, criminals, criminal justice, parole, probation, prison,
drug treatment, reentry, sex offenders, domestic violence, anger management, corrections, high-risk offenders, GPS, satellite tracking.

See our television shows at http://media.csosa.gov.

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

This podcast consists of the audio of a 30-minute television show addressing efforts in the District of Columbia to provide treatment programs to offenders. The original program is on our video podcast site at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/video/?p=13.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/?p=36

An article on the subject is available from our web site: www.csosa.gov.

The show is hosted by Leonard Sipes.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows.

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

This podcast consists of the audio of a 30-minute television show addressing efforts in the District of Columbia to provide supervision and treatment services to high risk drug offenders. The original program is on our video podcast site at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/video/?p=11.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/?p=34

An article on the subject is available from our web site: www.csosa.gov.

The show is hosted by Leonard Sipes.

Meta terms: crime, criminals, criminal justice, parole, probation, prison,
drug treatment, reentry, sex offenders.

See http://media.csosa.gov for our television shows.

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

The audio of a 30-minute television show addressing efforts in the District of Columbia to provide volunteer faith-based mentoring to offenders released from prison.

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/?p=33

Meta terms: crime, criminals, criminal justice, parole, probation, prison,
drug treatment, reentry, sex offenders.