Aarti Kohli Finds Wrongful Arrests in Fed Immigration Program

National Catholic Reporter, January 31, 2012 by Monica Clark
http://ncronline.org/news/immigration-and-church/archbishop-joins-immigrants-rally-against-federal-deportation-program

According to a comprehensive study on Secure Communities by the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at UC Berkeley School of Law, 39 percent of those arrested through Secure Communities have a spouse or child who is a U.S. citizen. About 88,000 families with members who are U.S. citizens have been impacted by the program.

Jesse Choper Delays Police Report for Student Input

The Daily Californian, January 31, 2012 by Chloe Hunt
http://www.dailycal.org/2012/01/31/police-review-board-process-stalled/

In a Jan. 27 letter to Birgeneau, UC Berkeley School of Law professor and chair of the board Jesse Choper stated that the board’s planning was delayed due to insufficient student input because of winter break. The board hopes to hold hearings about the protest events before the end of February and to produce a report shortly afterwards, according to the letter.

Ty Alper Criticizes Secrecy of Execution Protocols

The Associated Press, January 30, 2012 by Amanda Lee Myers
http://www.necn.com/pages/print_landing?&apID=d95ef77a0d394680a61d506188d8db4b&

“There’s been a real lack of accountability and transparency in the way states kill people, and it’s something that more and more courts are refusing to allow when you sort of peel back the veil and look at what’s happening,” he said. “The more state officials trying to keep things secret, the more there usually is to discover if you somehow lift the veil.”

Franklin Zimring Explains New York’s Policing Tactics

-The Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2012 by Franklin E. Zimring
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577181291838644350.html?KEYWORDS=Berkeley

As part of its CompStat system, it combined mapping and the analysis of crime statistics to target “hot spots” by concentrating patrol, detective and narcotics units. Hours were shifted so that more officers were working at night, when shootings peaked. Open-air drug markets were shut down, which didn’t significantly reduce drug sales but did eliminate 90% of drug-related killings, which usually involve turf conflicts.

-The New Yorker, January 30, 2012 by Adam Gopnik
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/01/30/120130crat_atlarge_gopnik?currentPage=all

Zimring said, in a recent interview, “Remember, nobody ever made a living mugging. There’s no minimum wage in violent crime.” In a sense, he argues, it’s recreational, part of a life style: “Crime is a routine behavior; it’s a thing people do when they get used to doing it.”

Aarti Kohli Evaluates Rubio as Possible GOP VP Candidate

-San Francisco Chronicle, Politics Blog, January 27, 2012 by Joe Garofoli
http://bit.ly/xeotSb

Rubio is Cuban-American, “and they have in general been far more conservative than other Latinos on a lot of issues, particularly on immigration.”

-San Francisco Chronicle, January 27, 2012 by Joe Garofoli
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2012/01/27/MN261MV198.DTL

“Surprisingly, he has taken a hard-line position even on issues that have bipartisan support,” like the Dream Act, said Aarti Kohli.

Daniella Beinisch, Christopher Edley Laud Israeli-US Tech Connections

jweekly, January 26, 2012 by Dan Pine
http://www.jweekly.com/includes/print/64089/article/silicon-wadi-israeli-high-tech-explored-at-berkeley-conference/

“American companies are investing in Israel, and a lot of Israeli companies are moving here. All those connections feed this industry and keep it alive.”

Christopher Edley, dean of Berkeley Law, said the conference is exciting “not only because we’re talking about an issue of vital importance to Israel, but because the lessons in Israel offer insights about Silicon Valley and its future. It’s one thing to sit on Wall Street and invent a new kind of derivative. It’s another thing to build the next generation of technology.”

Barry Krisberg Opines on Juvenile Justice Reforms

-iWatch, January 25, 2012 by Susan Ferriss
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/01/25/7961/fight-brewing-over-historic-california-plan-close-last-three-youth-prisons

Krisberg said that in the end, he’d prefer to see California keep a few hundred beds for juveniles at the state level and enact strong policies and provide adequate funding for monitoring and improving local treatment.

-San Francisco Chronicle, January 31, 2012 by Barry Krisberg
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/31/EDFM1N0TJU.DTL

In California, the state is moving away from treating the DJJ youth as if they are irredeemable and is trying to increase counseling and treatment programs. Yet most of the youth still exercise in cages and their rooms are prison cells with open toilets in the middle. Many county facilities also are designed to have the look and feel of prisons.