Way to Go, Velma!

I've been waiting to write this post until after the official celebration in Philly:

Congratulations to Velma, the 2009 ASC Division on Corrections & Sentencing Distinguished Young Scholar!!

We are all so proud of you!

Story Gives New Meaning to "Self-Reported Crime"

Not sure if this made national headlines yet, but it has been circulating around our area for a few days. A woman recently called 911 to report a drunk driver. Turns out she was reporting herself:

Dispatcher: Clark County 911
Mary Strey: Somebody's really drunk driving down Granton Road...
Dispatcher: ...Which way are they going?
Mary Strey: They are going, um...
Dispatcher: Towards Granton or towards Neillsville?
Mary Strey: Towards Granton
Dispatcher: Okay are you behind them, or...
Mary Strey: No, I am them
Dispatcher: You am them?
Mary Strey: Yes, I am them
Dispatcher: Okay, so you want to call and report that you're driving drunk?
Mary Strey: Yes

You just can't make this stuff up...

So Sad About Missing Philly...

This is the first ASC in almost a decade that I have to miss, and I'm so bummed. I hope Patch, ShockProf, Velma, Scoob, or Cranks get some photos of the festivities and will be good enough to share them. Have a safe trip, y'all, and have fun!

My Brilliant Idea

Last night while I was catching up on my e-mail, the Trailing Spouse sat next to me enthralled by a Parole Board marathon on the Biography Channel. Each episode of this true-crime show (which you all know I'm obsessed with) profiles incarcerated offenders in a particular state who are up for parole, with the show's final minutes featuring the big reveal of the parole board's decision. (Will they or won't they? Oh, the suspense!) This program, like several others on its sister channel A&E, is narrated by Bill Kurtis, whose name arguably has become synonymous with crime and justice television journalism. And then inspiration struck:

Somebody needs to invite Bill Kurtis to be the keynote speaker at a criminology/criminal justice annual meeting!

Seriously, wouldn't you attend a keynote address by Bill Kurtis, if only just to hear his smooth, dulcet baritone in person? I know I would!

Patch: What do you think? Can MCJA make this happen? I'm on a couple of ACJS committees -- maybe I'll float this idea around and see what happens.

Tell me this isn't a stroke of brilliance!

What Types of Research Should NIJ Fund?

Today I received this call for input from the ACJS Executive Director:

ACJS Needs Your Input

ACJS has been invited to meet with Kristina Rose, Acting Director of the National Institute of Justice, for the purpose of sharing our thoughts on the greatest research needs from the perspective of our membership and what matters to us regarding the NIJ role. To that end, we need your assistance. Janice Joseph, ACJS President, and I will represent ACJS at this meeting. We solicit your input as we prepare for this meeting.

As you are aware, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) in the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ’s mission is to provide objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime and justice, particularly at the state and local levels.

Please reply to this message and share your thoughts by entering your responses to the questions below...

Please provide your response to any or all of the following questions by noon EST, Thursday, October 29, 2009:

1. What priorities should NIJ pursue?
2. From your perspective, what is/are the greatest research need/s in the field of criminal justice/criminology?
3. Please indicate what, if any, changes you would recommend regarding NIJ funding?
4. What are the most important innovations that could be made in funding for research?
5. What do you want us to be sure to discuss with the NIJ Acting Director that wasn’t covered in any of the previous questions?

Thoughts from my fellow bloggers or our readers? What types of research would you tell NIJ to fund? From where you sit, what are the key crime and justice research needs? I'll share my thoughts in the comments, but I'm curious to hear from others, too.

Big News About Federal Medical Marijuana Policy

Although 14 states have passed laws legalizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, marijuana is classified by the federal government as a Schedule I narcotic, and thus remains illegal at the federal level. However, today the Obama administration announced that federal officials will not target medical marijuana users who comply with their states' laws:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes...

A three-page memo spelling out the policy is expected to be sent Monday to federal prosecutors in the 14 states, and also to top officials at the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.The memo, the officials said, emphasizes that prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing which cases to pursue, and says it is not a good use of federal manpower to prosecute those who are without a doubt in compliance with state law...

And while the policy memo describes a change in priorities away from prosecuting medical marijuana cases, it does not rule out the possibility that the federal government could still prosecute someone whose activities are allowed under state law.

This is a smart, long overdue move, and hopefully is the first tiny, baby step on the path toward reclassifying (or declassifiying) marijuana, which has no business being a Schedule I drug.

P.S. I would like acknowledgment for resisting the urge to begin this post with the following taunt: "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!"

Totally Unshocking Crime Headlines, Vol. 18

"Rape a weapon of war in Congo, activists say"

Haven't activists been saying that for years now?