Category: Interviews with Policy Makers

  • Interview with Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson-Office of Justice Programs-DC Public Safety Radio

    Welcome to “DC Public Safety” – Radio and television shows, blog and transcripts on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system. We currently average 90,000 page views a month.

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

    Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2012/04/interview-with-assistant-attorney-general-laurie-robinson-office-of-justice-programs-dc-public-safety-radio/

    Current Radio Program:

    The program interviews Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson.

    Laurie O. Robinson was sworn in as Assistant Attorney General on November 9, 2009. Ms. Robinson previously served as Assistant Attorney General at the Office of Justice Programs from 1993 to February, 2000. During that time, she oversaw the largest increase in federal spending on criminal justice research in the nation’s history, and under her leadership the annual appropriations for OJP grew substantially – from $800 million in 1993 to over $4 billion in 2000. At the same time, she also spearheaded initiatives in areas ranging from comprehensive community-based crime control to violence against women, law enforcement technology, drug abuse and corrections.

    Ms. Robinson served as Acting Assistant Attorney General and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of OJP from January 2009 until nominated by President Obama in September 2009. Since returning to the Department of Justice, she has overseen the implementation of the $2.7 billion in programs for which Congress assigned responsibility to OJP under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; launched a new agency-wide Evidence Integration Initiative to help ensure science-based approaches in OJP-funded programs; and held a series of “listening sessions” with state and local constituents to learn what OJP can do to better serve the field.

    Ms. Robinson is leaving her post next month. She has been in the position of Assistant Attorney General for OJP for approximately 10 years; longer than any other OJP Assistant Attorney General.

    The website for the Office of Justice Programs is http://www.ojp.gov.

    Special Announcements:

    The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency offers annual “Reentry Reflection Events” in February. See .

    A top priority for Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is to invest in scientific research to ensure that the Department is both tough and smart on crime. The Office of Justice Programs’ CrimeSolutions.gov website shapes rigorous research into a central, reliable, and credible resource to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice.

    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 .

    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.

    Share
  • Research on Employing Offenders-Council for Court Excellence-DC Public Safety

    Welcome to “DC Public Safety” – Radio and television shows, blog and transcripts on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system. We currently average 90,000 page views a month.

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

    Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2012/03/research-on-employing-offenders-council-for-court-excellence-dc-public-safety/

    Current Radio Program:

    The program interviews Dr. June B. Kress, Executive Director, Council for Court Excellence and Peter M. Willner, Senior Policy Analyst for the Council for Court Excellence. The Council released research interviewing employers and former offenders regarding offender employment.

    The report, “Unlocking Employment Opportunity,” cites a 50 percent unemployment rate for people released from prison or jail, 77 percent stated that they received no occupational assistance while incarcerated and 80 percent stated that they were asked about their criminal record while applying for jobs. Fifty percent of employers stated that they would be willing to hire offenders if incentives were provided; liability was a principle concern. The Council advocates for a certificate of compliance for those offenders doing well under (or beyond) supervision of parole and probation agencies.

    The website for the Council is http://www.courtexcellence.org.

    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 .

    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.

    Share
  • Intelligence and Information Sharing in the Criminal Justice System-UMUC-DC 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.

    Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2012/03/intelligence-and-information-sharing-in-the-criminal-justice-system-umuc-dc-public-safety/

    Current Radio Program:

    The program interviews Dr. William Sondervan, Executive Director for Public Safety Outreach for the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and Peter Oleson, Associate Professor of Intelligence Studies for UMUC addressing the use of intelligence and information sharing within the criminal justice system.

    The website for UMUC is .

    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 requestors 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 reentry. Please visit their website at .

    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.

    Share
  • The Correctional Education Association Conference, 2011-The State of Correctional Education in America-DC Public Safety Radio

    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/2012/02/the-correctional-education-association-conference-2011-the-state-of-correctional-education-in-america-dc-public-safety-radio/

    Current Radio Program:

    The program interviews five experts from the Correctional Education Conference in Charleston, WV in July of 2011. The interviews are approximately five minutes in length.

    The research is clear; correctional education and vocational programs work to reduce criminality upon release (referred to as recidivism) and saves states millions of dollars in future correctional costs.

    However, some states are either cutting educational programs due to severe budget constraints and some are increasing educational capacities in hopes of reducing recidivism and future correctional costs.

    Five people were interviewed and all approached correction education from different perspectives:

    Susan Lockwood is a state director of juvenile education and discusses computer based learning and testing;

    William Byers is Superintendent of the Arkansas correctional education system and addresses reductions in recidivism;

    Denise Justice is a state correctional school system superintendent and speaks to public perceptions of educational efforts;

    Steve Steurer is the Executive Director of the Correctional Education Association and attempts to put state and national efforts in perspective;

    Cindy Borden represents a company under contract to the Correction Education Association and addresses a four year study of post-secondary education (college) programs comparing prisons with and without college programs with encouraging results for prison releases enrolled in college and employed.

    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.

    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 .

    Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency:

    We welcome your comments or suggestions at <"mailto:leonard.sipes@csosa.gov">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.

    Share
  • DC Safe Surrender 2011 – An Interview with US Marshal Thomas Hedgepeth

    DC Safe Surrender will occur on August 13-20 and 27. This program interviews US Marshal Thomas Hedgepeth. The program time is five minutes.

    Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2012/02/dc-safe-surrender-2011-an-interview-with-us-marshal-thomas-hedgepeth/

    DC Safe Surrender 2011:

    The combined federal and District criminal justice system came together in 2007 and created “Fugitive Safe Surrender.” 530 offenders with warrants voluntarily surrendered.  Safe Surrender was a national effort lead by the US Marshal’s Service.

    The website for the current “DC Safe Surrender” is http://www.dcsafesurrender.org.

    “DC Safe Surrender” in 2011 seeks offenders wanted on non-violent felony and misdemeanor warrants. Domestic violence cases are not included.

    Offenders willingly participated in the last Safe Surrender in 2007. The overwhelming majority went home that day with a new court date or had the charges resolved while they were there. They were looking for a way to safely resolve their warrants.

    “DC Safe Surrender” is a public safety initiative. It gets offenders with warrants off the streets and back into legitimate society. It allows law enforcement to focus on other concerns.

    “DC Safe Surrender” protects the family members of those wanted on warrants. They lose the fear of police coming to their door. They lose the fear of a family member being arrested in front of children.

    “DC Safe Surrender” protects our police officers. They do not have to risk injury in serving these warrants.

    A list of those wanted for warrants will be available on the website.

    When: “DC Safe Surrender” will take place on three Saturdays on August 13, 20 and 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

    Where: The DC Superior Court building at 500 Indiana Ave.  NW

    Share