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Welcome to “DC Public Safety” – Radio and television shows, blog and transcripts on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

We currently average 133,000 page views a month.

This is radio show 157.

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

Transcript available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2012/11/interview-with-acting-assistant-attorney-general-mary-lou-leary-office-of-justice-programs-dc-public-safety-radio/

Subscribe to “DC Public Safety” through iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dc-public-safety-video/id211867321?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 for video and http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dc-public-safety-audio/id211598412?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 for audio.

Current Radio Program:

The program interviews Acting Assistant General Mary Lou Leary of the Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice.

Ms. Leary was appointed Acting Assistant Attorney General on March 1, 2012. As head of the Office of Justice Programs, she oversees an annual budget of more than $2 billion dedicated to supporting state, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies; an array of juvenile justice programs; a wide range of research, evaluation, and statistical efforts; and comprehensive services for crime victims. Prior to her appointment, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General.

Ms. Leary has 30 years of criminal justice experience at the federal, state, and local levels, with an extensive background in criminal prosecution, government leadership, and victim advocacy. Before joining the Office of Justice Programs in 2009, she was Executive Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, a leading victim advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. She also served in leadership roles at the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, holding posts as Principal Assistant United States Attorney, Senior Counsel to the United States Attorney, Chief of the office’s Superior Court Division, and United States Attorney. From 1999 to 2001, she held several executive positions at the Department of Justice, including Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, Deputy Associate Attorney General, and Acting Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

In addition to her years as a federal prosecutor, Ms. Leary prosecuted crimes on the state and local levels as Assistant District Attorney in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. She received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law, a master’s degree in education from Ohio State University, and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Syracuse University.

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

Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week:

The American Probation and Parole Association is celebrating “Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week”  July 15-21. See: http://www.appa-net.org/eweb/Resources/PPCSW_12/ .

Special Announcements:

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.

A new website lists and evaluates prisoner re-entry programs nationwide. Launched yesterday by the Urban Institute, the Council of State Governments, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Prisoner Reentry Institute, the “What Works Clearinghouse” can be seen at .

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 .

Correctional Social Media:

The Pew Center on the States Public Safety Performance Project  offers a video on research to reduce recidivism as well as brief  but powerful overviews of reentry and sentencing research. See http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/initiatives_detail.aspx?initiativeID=31336 .

The U.S. DOJ Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships recently held two successful webinars on Faith and Community Based approaches to Reentry and Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives.  Click the links below to watch/listen to these informative webinars.

Faith and Community Based Approaches to Responsible Fatherhood and its Impact on Delinquency Prevention

 A Look at Faith & Community-Based Approaches to Offender Reentry

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/ .

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services offers podcasts at http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/pio/podcasts.html.

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.