Protecting kids from online predators has always been one of my highest priorities.
While serving as chief counsel for Facebook, I worked with Attorneys General across the nation to help build a safer internet -- and I've seen some of the ideas I've championed enacted into law.
One of those ideas I championed was requiring convicted sex offenders to provide their online identifiers as part of their registrations, and as a result, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was able to announce that more than 3,500 registered New York sex offenders were removed from MySpace and Facebook under the state's "e-STOP" law that we crafted together.
On Tuesday, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris held a public media event to introduce a bill she is sponsoring in the legislature that purports to keep online predators off social networking sites, including Facebook and MySpace.
As we close out Black History month, I wanted to share this article I wrote for the L.A. Watts Times. Our office has been working very hard to ensure that truant students return to school. Truant students become dropout students, who become future crime victims and crime perpetrators. Cutting this cycle off early can really make a difference. For more information about my campaign to be California's first African-American Attorney General, please see KamalaHarris.org. You can also support us on Facebook.
Many of the landmark battles of our Civil Rights Movement hinged on the right to an education. We all remember the images - the Little Rock Nine escorted to school by federal troops, or a deadly firefight between U.S. Marshals, soldiers and rioting segregationists intent on blocking James Meredith's enrollment at the University of Mississippi.
Adults and children lost their lives so that African American students could enter America's school houses. Under the law, our battle was won. But today, in many respects, we are losing the war.
African American children are dropping out of school at alarming rates, with nearly half failing to finish high school. The pattern starts young and begins with chronic school absences. Many urban school districts across the country report that literally thousands of students are absent without an excuse each day. Often, more than 40 percent of these missing students are in elementary school.
(Consistent with our policy of bumping elected officials, here is a post from SF DA Kamala Harris. Disclosure: I am doing some work for her campaign for Attorney General. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
Einstein's definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. By that measure, our current approach to criminal justice may need a shrink--and a new way of doing business.
The old approach to fighting crime is well-known. Police and prosecutors are deluged with low-level drug cases, and the public spends billions on prisons to house these offenders. And, every year, prisons release hundreds of thousands of these offenders back into our communities. They're sent back with a bus ticket and a little cash in hand--and that's about it. They have no plan, no skills, nowhere to go, and no other changed circumstances. They pick up right where they left off; within three years of release, seven out of ten California prisoners will re-offend and return to prison.
After decades of this sad cycle, our prisons are swollen beyond capacity and our budgets maxed. Across the country, leaders are acknowledging that we've been missing a crucial opportunity all along. Perhaps the most crucial step in the criminal justice process is the most often ignored--what happens after the conviction and prison sentence, when the prisoner comes home.
Education, public safety, and the economy: three vastly complex issue areas that time and again are proven to be inextricably linked.
By doing what it takes to keep kids in school in every corner of our state, we can save literally billions of dollars in public resources and greatly improve public safety.
Most of us in law enforcement have known this for many years. As San Francisco's District Attorney, I see the direct impact of what happens when kids don't stay in school; young lives are lost to street violence or prison at an appalling rate, our state loses more resources and our communities are less safe.
In a decision that won't necessarily score her political points, SF District Attorney Kamala Harris's office yesterday declined to seek the death penalty for Edwin Ramos. Ramos is accused of murdering Tony Bologna and his two sons last year.
Friday in court, prosecutor Harry Dorfman made this surprise announcement.
The District Attorney has decided to seek the special circumstances penalty of life without parole; we will not seek the death penalty in this case," he said.
Since Ramos was charged with multiple murders and two other special circumstance offenses, Harris could have asked for the death penalty. But Harris is an opponent of capital punishment and she told reporters her decision fits the crime.
"We have thoroughly reviewed the facts and laws in this case and arrived at a decision based on that review," Harris said. (KGO 9/10/09)
Harris is opposed to the death penalty. She has said in the past that she would consider each case on its own merits, but certainly her own morality must come into play.
This is a position of personal integrity. She is sticking to what she said when she defeated Terrence Hallinan way back in 2003. While the death penalty may have support in California as a whole, that is not the case in San Francisco. Surely, there will be ads, or whisper campaigns, or whatever, made about this during a campaign for Attorney General.
But you can say one thing about Kamala Harris, she has a spine. And in this race, that gives her a leg up in my book.
Say what you will about her, but Harris has done more to create innovative programs and solution to both our crime problems and our prison crisis than all but a handful of DAs nationwide. In a state with a repeat offender rate of about 70%, substantially above the national recidivism rate, we should be looking for new ways to treat crime. Rather than simply packing more people in jail until they get out, and almost inevitably end up back in the criminal justice system, we should attempt to find ways to reintegrate people into the
Back on Track has lowered recidivism rates among the participating drug offenders to less than 10 percent as compared to statewide recidivism rates of more than 50 percent among the same population. All of the nearly 100 current participants are employed and/or in school, and 90 percent of participants with child support obligations are in good standing and making their required payments. Defendants are not eligible if they have histories of gang involvement, gun possession or violence.
Those are really good statistics, and we should be applauding this data. But, as with any program in this population, there are going to be people who go astray from the program. The LA Times found such a story yesterday (which was then dutifully rewritten by the Chronicle) about an unfortunate victim of a mugging in San Francisco.
A stranger, later identified as Alexander Izaguirre, snatched her purse and hopped into an SUV, police say. The driver sped forward to run Kiefer down. Terrified, she leaped onto the hood and saw Izaguirre and the driver laughing. The driver slammed on the brakes, propelling Kiefer to the pavement. Her skull fractured. Blood oozed from her ear.
Only after the July 2008 attack did Kiefer learn of the crime's political ramifications. Izaguirre, police told her, was an illegal immigrant who had pleaded guilty four months earlier to a drug felony for selling cocaine in the seedy Tenderloin area.
He had avoided prison when he was picked for a jobs program run by San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris, now a candidate for California's top law enforcement post. In effect, Harris' office had been allowing Izaguirre and other illegal immigrants to stay out of prison by training them for jobs they cannot legally hold.(LAT 6/22/09)
Is this unfortunate? Yes, certainly. Is it a reason to shut down the Back on Track Program? Definitely not.
Izaguirre is an interesting case because he is an undocumented immigrant. So, there is a touch of nativism, and "ship them out of here" to this case. Now, it is an outstanding question as to whether he should have been deported. There is a real case for that. However, it should not be the duty of local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws. In theory, that is what ICE should be doing.
You could make an argument that there be some reporting system of felonies to ICE,but that is a question of federal, not local law. And bringing up this seperate question in the context of Back On Track preys on the fears of the public without actually helping the problem.
Let's try this thought experiment: In Oakland, a parolee murdered two sisters in their hotel room. Is that a tragedy? Absolutely, but we cannot simply use that tragedy as an excuse to end all parole.
In our society, and pretty much every modern society, we have chosen to live with a low level of crime. I know, I know, we aren't supposed to say that, but it's the price of living in a society with civil rights. If we didn't mind police cameras in our living rooms, we could probably reduce crime substantially, but then we are living under the watchful eye of Big Brother. We've opted to keep Big Brother shackled in most areas of our lives, and so we must deal with the occasional crime.
Kamala Harris may not be perfect, after all she is a politician. However, this program is a valuable attempt to cut the ToughOnCrimeTM crap that Republicans like George Runner are peddling. In fact, Tom Harman, a Republican state Senator from the OC who is also running for AG, even got a link to his press release on the front page of the Chronicle's SFGate.com site. (A quick note to the Chronicle's web people and really everybody else: PR "Newswire" is just a stream of press releases. Linking to it as a "newswire" is rather deceptive.)
We need to address the really serious questions in our criminal justice system, and providing successful rehabilitation programs is a win-win-win. It's good for the offender, it's good for the state as it is cheaper, and it is good for the public safety. There will be failures in all of these programs, but they will always get outsized coverage. I guess the successful rehabilitation of a drug dealer doesn't make for as interesting of a story. But the success stories are extremely important for the future of our state.
(I want to welcome SF's District Attorney Kamala Harris. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
States across our country are facing budget deficits. California is projected to begin next fiscal year with a deficit of nearly 25 billion dollars, equaling one fourth of the state's entire general fund. Over 10 billion of that general fund supports corrections and law enforcement. In this fiscal crisis, there is no denying the facts: tough budget times are here for public safety agencies. As the District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, I am personally familiar with the difficult circumstances we face. Without a significant shift in local and state practices, we can predict that shrinking law enforcement and corrections funding will result in higher crime rates, less support for victims, and fewer offenders being held accountable. If ever there was a time to think outside the box and break with the failed approaches of the past, the time is now. We need to do something different.
In San Francisco, I have developed a smart on crime approach: we must be tough on serious and violent offenders while we get just as tough on the root causes of crime. In my office, we have raised felony conviction rates and sent more violent offenders to state prison, at the same time we have launched innovative, cost effective approaches to reduce recidivism, truancy, and childhood trauma. With a genuine investment in breaking cycles of crime, we can improve public safety at the same time that we save precious public resources.
Today, Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook Chris Kelly announced an exploratory committee for the race for California Attorney General. He joins a field that includes Assemblymembers Ted Lieu, Pedro Nava and Alberto Torrico; San Francisco DA Kamala Harris, and Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. In his statement, which you can find at his website, Kelly talked about efficienct and effective government, Internet safety, proper training and equipment for law enforcement, and stopping trafficking. The words "prisons," "jails," "corrections" or "parole" was not mentioned.
Our prison system is a mess. We have the highest recidivism rate in the country, mostly because 2/3 of our prisoners returning to jail go there because of technical violations of their parole. This turns jails into giant holding pens instead of areas for rehabilitation and treatment, as well as colleges for nonviolent offenders on how to get involved in violent crime. The overstuffed prisons cost more money to staff and service as they become more dangerous, leading to the state spending more on incarceration than higher education. Despite all this spending, conditions in the prisons are medieval, with the ACLU proposing the closure of the LA County Men's Central Jail. Prison officials are discussing release of 8,000 nonviolent and terminally ill offenders, but that's a drop in the bucket. We also have denied prisoners their Constitutional right to health care, and have a federal receiver now remedying that situation, taking it out of the hands of the legislature. The "tough on crime" mantra that has ruled the thinking of both parties on this issue has utterly and completely failed.
And yet, our Attorney General candidates and our gubernatorial candidates view this absolute crisis as just another check on their list, instead of the serious problem it is. Gavin Newsom didn't bring it up in his speech, though I did ask him about it in the blogger meeting afterwards. He talked about how we need a re-entry strategy better than the failed parole system, and cited some re-entry reforms in San Francisco that have helped matters. And he stated that having the courts step in to fix the problem presents an opportunity for real reform. With respect to the drug war, which lies at the heart of this, he expressed his support for drug courts and mental health courts and the kind of options that wouldn't consign nonviolent offenders to the rigors of overcrowded prison life when they need medical treatment. And he vowed to have more detailed programs available soon. But when it counted, on stage, he said nothing. Jerry Brown did tackle the issue, but his non-stop fight against the prison health care receiver and sensible steps like Prop. 5 destroy any credibility he may have had on the issue.
I have appreciated Greg Lucas' interviews with some of the candidates in the Attorney General's race, and I have paid particular attention to their views on the prison crisis. (over)
Friend of Calitics Ted Lieu has shown a lot of leadership during the housing crisis, attempting time and again to hold the mortgage brokers responsible and get sensible legislation passed that protects homeowners. It's been his signature issue the past two years. Now he's going to run for Attorney General.
Democratic Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, filed paperwork this week to run for attorney general in 2010.
Lieu is the third Democrat to make the move, following San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, who announced she was exploring a run in mid-November, and former Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla, who filed in July.
Harris and Lieu and Canciamilla can answer one question for me that would help me in my decision for 2010. Do they feel they can keep stonewalling the Federal Prison Receiver, as Jerry Brown has, and refusing to comply with providing prisoners an environment that doesn't violate their Constitutional rights, or do they feel that the failure in leadership over 30 years of wrong-way sentencing and "tough on crime" nonsense needs to be stopped. Solving the prison crisis ought to be the foremost issue for the state's top cop.
Kamala Harris will officially announce her campaign for attorney general, based on the assumption that Jerry Brown is not planning on running for re-election. It is kind of amazing that we have 2 year campaigns for even the AG position. She's always been focused on what she calls "Smart On Crime", from her website:
I've spent my entire professional life in the trenches as a courtroom prosecutor. I started my career out of law school as a prosecutor in the Alameda DA's Office and I can tell you from the frontlines, we need tough new ideas for strengthening our criminal justice system in California. I will fight for all Californians - from distressed homeowners to families whose neighborhoods are under siege. In the coming months, I will detail new ideas on how we can fight street gangs, go after subprime lenders and others responsible for the current financial crisis, and fundamentally reform our prison system. We have to shut the revolving door that simply recycles criminals in and out of our neighborhoods.
It will be nice to stop the cycle of your typical AG campaigns of how one candidate is going to throw somebody in jail longer than the other. We need somebody with courage and a bully pulpit to speak out on reforming our criminal justice system. It remains to be seen if Kamala Harris is that person, but at least her rhetoric is a breath of fresh air.
She will officially launch the campaign at San Francisco City Hall this morning at 11.
Way back in August, I did an interview with Kamala Harris and a few other bloggers. We're going to air that interview now as we approach the Nov election. We discussed a wide range of topics from the presidential election to "SmartOnCrime". It's good stuff.
Dave and I will also be chatting about a range of issues for the upcoming election. Listen at the Calitics Show homepage. You can also catch the podcast there, or at iTunes
* Dan Lungren really, really doesn't like when you film him talking his BS. Bill Durston is sending somebody to film his events, and Lungren thinks that is very unfair. How is he supposed to spew his right-wingnuttery if it is going to be available on the web? Poor Dan.
* Shorter Dan Walters: Woe is we. In all seriousness, the loss of reporters covering politics is having a disastrous effect on California. Unfortunately, this isn't going to get better for a while as the business plan for most media outlets is still struggling to catch up to the TwitterAge.
* The Yosemite glacier and the Sierra snowpack are simply melting away. The consequences for our water supply (65% of it in California comes from here) are catastrophic.
* Home sales in Southern California spiked in September. I think it's a lot of bargain hunting and people buying up foreclosed properties for cheap (50% of the homes sold had been foreclosed).
* Prop 10: Anthony Rubenstein, the campaign manager for yes on Prop 87, the Oil Extraction Fee, goes after T. Boone and his scam, Prop 10. With almost every editorial board and environmental group opposing Prop 10, it faces an uphill climb. It's a bad scheme to flood money into T. Boone's new cash cow, natural gas, and it should be cast upon the garbage heap of ideas.
* John Myers of KQED has made his weekly podcast available. It's worth a listen, after you've listened to the Calitics Show, of course.
* Speaking of the Calitics Show, this week we have an interview of San Francisco DA, and California Obama co-chair, Kamala Harris with a few bloggers from the DNC. We'll kick that out sometime at the end of this week. Full details forthcoming soon.
Via Newseum, here's how Barack Obama's victory over Hillary Clinton in South Carolina is playing above the fold in today's California's Sunday papers:
Bakersfield Californian: Obama routs Clinton in S.C. North County Times (Escondido): Obama romps in South Carolina LA Daily News: Obama defeats Clinton in rout in S. Carolina LA Times: Obama easily captures strongest win yet in S.C. Modesto Bee: Obama crushes Clinton in South Carolina primary Sacramento Bee: Obama's big win sets up next fight San Diego Union-Tribune: Obama thrashes rivals in S.C. San Francisco Chronicle: OBAMA WINS BIG IN S. CAROLINA Orange County Register: Obama runs away with S.C. Contra Costa Times: Obama nets huge win in S. Carolina
More after the flip and please use the comments to let us everyone know what you're doing and seeing locally.
The Obama rally in San Francisco was your typical presidential rally. There were a bunch of people announcing they were endorsing him, including Reps. George Miller and Barbara Lee (who actually had already announced) and Supes Peskin, Daly, Dufty, and Maxwell. I imagine others will come on board the Obama train soon from what I hear.
Barbara Lee is always inspiring, but I'm always pleasantly surprised when I see George Miller in person. I don't know if it's just that he's not all that telegenic or something, but he's just one of those people who is better in person. Others attending included Asm. Wilma Chan, SF DA Kamala Harris and Steve Westly. You can check out more photos of the event at my Flickr set .
DNC CHair Howard Dean knows exactly what's up with the so-called "Presidential Electoral Reform Act", it's just one more way to keep GOP in office by gaming the system. It's just one more dirty trick from the gang of villains that brought you Abu Ghraib, the Katrina botched handling, and the rise of the Taliban in Afganistan. They are both corrupt to the core and unfit to lead. More Video over the flip.
