Humane Exposures Blog

It’s been a long time coming, but tomorrow Born, Not Raised: Voices from Juvenile Hall will be available for sale to the public!

Here are a few excerpts from the preliminary reviews to help whet your appetite.

Publisher’s Weekly was kind enough to review the book a few weeks ago, describing it as follows:

Lankford and her daughter, Polly, visit “the Hall” over a one-year period, refracting their discoveries though the lenses of juvenile legal professionals, psychiatrists, and academic literature. Their quest unearths a collective legacy of addiction and abuse that drives children to drugs, gangs, and violence. Disputing the notion that delinquents are beyond repair, Lankford argues that most inmates can transform their traumatic histories into productive maturity if sustained by just one ‘good enough’ adult.

Karen Billing, a writer for Rancho Sante Fe, examined the history of both the book and Humane Exposures Publishing in a recent article. Here is some of what she had to say about Born, Not Raised:

‘Born, Not Raised’ exposes the gaps in these children’s development, as well as in the system and offers some possible solutions: ‘Could the answer be in parenting, education and learning to raise children responsibly in today’s world?’ Madden Lankford writes.

GoodReads reviewer Susan had this to say:

In this newest book, Susan and daughter Polly tackle the prickly problem of teens who are living in Juvenile Hall, essentially prison for children. Ms. Lankford’s photography is astounding. Her writing is beautiful. But most importantly, she lets the people she and Polly interview speak for themselves.

We are also thrilled that the esteemed Library Journal covered our book (via Barnes and Noble website):

More policy-oriented than academic in tone, this book is recommended for specialized juvenile justice collections and libraries holding the other two volumes in the series. Though government austerity is in vogue, this book is a powerful reminder of the social costs of neglecting the specific needs of at-risk youth.

Judge Irene Sullivan, Author of Raised by the Courts, was kind enough to share her opinion as well:

Susan Lankford captures the heart and soul, aspirations, hopes and fears, of kids in the juvenile justice system. If only juvenile judges could have access to the writings, photographs and stories of the kids she’s met, juvenile court would be much more rehabilitative.

We hope that the message of fiscal sense and social responsibility that our books propose gain more attention with this release. The cost, both monetary and socially, of continuing to avoid these issues is massive.

To order online, by mail, or over the phone please look here!

It is an established fact that rehabilitative efforts yield more results at less cost than incarceration. It is a constant theme in our posts here, and with good reason.

Of course there are factors that can reach back to the cradle – problems like broken families, poverty, substance abuse and myriad others. Today I’d like to take note of one that I don’t believe we have covered – mistrust of the police, particularly within minority communities.

I’m the member of the team that lives in New Orleans, a city that often exemplifies the worst in the American justice system. As a result I live with the repercussions of that system’s failures every day.

Crumbling infrastructure, some of it still lingering from our experiences with Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee failure, combines with gross ethnic disparity and crushing poverty to give us one of the highest murder rates in the nation.

One major factor, especially recently, is distrust of the police. If no one calls there is no chance of apprehending offenders, much less getting them as far as incarceration or treatment. This is certainly the case here in NOLA.

Columnist Jarvis DeBerry of The Times Picayune provides this nasty little tidbit:

‘NOPD’s use of force practices present a significant threat to the safety of the public and NOPD officers, and create a substantial obstacle to strong community-police partnerships.’ — Page vii of the March 16, 2011, Investigation of the New Orleans Department conducted by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

I wish I could say that I am shocked. A few minutes on Google is all it takes to see the tarnished history of enforcement here. Incidents like NOPD officer Antoinette Frank  who was convicted of first degree murder after firing nine bullets into a 21 year old girl and a 17 year old boy do little to inspire confidence.

This toxic police culture has continued on into the present day. DeBerry brings us the words of Rev. John Raphael, a local priest who is also a former New Orleans police officer. The comments are made in the wake of interviewing a youth who saw a wounded man and failed to call the police. The next day the wounded man was found dead:

We were told by the New Orleans Crime Coalition last week that 61 percent of New Orleans residents are satisfied with the Police Department. Officials in most cities would weep at such a finding, but in New Orleans, Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas pronounced himself pleased at the ‘highest level of support we have received to date.’

And yet, learning that public satisfaction with the department has risen 14 percent since August and 28 percent since 2009 seems much less significant than the news of a witness finding a body and deciding against calling the police. That decision not to call speaks to the alienation, to the out-and-out terror many residents have for our police. It illustrates how some residents see the police not as friendlies but as members of an occupying force.

I’m sure that there are many other communities where this is a problem, although I concede that New Orleans is probably one of the single most extreme examples.

Our policing is yet another aspect of our justice system’s breakdown. The nationwide imbalance of enforcement actions against minorities bears this out. It is all part and parcel of the same issue we address when writing about physical or sexual abuse by correctional staff. In both cases violation of trust has wider and more horrific repercussions.

For a better view of our broken system and practical ideas for how to fix it check out our latest offering- Born, Not Raised: Voices From Juvenile Hall, coming this Thursday.

What are things like in your community? How about in the nearest low income or ethnic community?

 Image Source: Mark Gstohl on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license

Colorado State Flag

Good news today from Denver, Co. where the House Judiciary Committee has passed a bill to scale back the discretion that can be used by district attorneys. The vote was 9-2.

The news is hardly shocking considering it comes in the wake of a report condemning Colorado’s “Direct File” system. Direct File allows district attorneys to prosecute offenders between the ages of 14-17 in adult court without a judicial hearing on the issue The report stated that it is “grossly overused” and that it does nothing to protect teenagers with no prior offenses or experience in the juvenile system. (The report also shows a massively disproportionate effect on teenagers of color and 95% of the cases go to plea bargaining rather than a judge.)

Eli Stokois reports for KWGN:

House Bill 1271, sponsored by Rep. B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland, and Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, would limit the range of crimes that can be direct filed into adult court to the most serious violent offenses, like murder and rape.

‘This bill will put the ability to charge a youth as an adult back in the hands of neutral judges,’ Nikkel said.

Colorado is one of just four states where prosecutors, who generally oppose H.B. 1271, have the discretion to file juvenile cases directly into the adult criminal system.

Any time a youth faces the possibility of being tried in adult court the decision should be one made by the judge, not by attorneys who might have a vested interest in the results.

While it does not roll back direct filing entirely, it does tighten the limits significantly. All in all it seems like Colorado has taken one step forward!

Born, Not Raised: Voices From Juvenile Hall

We are thrilled to announce that Library Journal has reviewed our upcoming release for net month- Born, Not Raised: Voices From Juvenile Hall!

Unfortunately the review is only available in the print edition, but it can also be found on the Barnes and Noble website’s entry for the book. It is the closing portion of the review that we are most proud of (emphasis mine):

VERDICT More policy-oriented than academic in tone, this book is recommended for specialized juvenile justice collections and libraries holding the other two volumes in the series. Though government austerity is in vogue, this book is a powerful reminder of the social costs of neglecting the specific needs of at-risk youth.—Antoinette Brinkman, Evansville, IN

And that is exactly what we hope for it to be, a powerful reminder. More than that it is our hope that it will also help to galvanize more people into action to fix this broken system.

In states like Ohio and Michigan efforts are being made to reduce the prison population. Efforts that include both left wing groups like the ACLU and a variety of hard right politicians, a moment of bipartisan cooperation in the midst of a turbulent and vituperative run up to the presidential election.

What can possibly get these two political extremes to agree? Pat Shelenberger of The Bridge gives us some details:

‘Oh, my gosh,’ [Mike] Brickner, the Ohio ACLU’s director of communications, said some months later, ‘if you can get the ACLU and the most conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats — people who usually can’t agree on anything — to come together, then you can get some momentum built.’

That momentum resulted in sweeping legislation overwhelmingly approved by the Republican-dominated Ohio Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. John Kasich last year, pulling back on years of ‘tough on crime’ laws that had caused massive crowding in the state’s prisons and a huge increase in its corrections spending.

Similar efforts are under way in other states, mostly led by conservatives, including some who once hewed to the ‘lock’em-up-and-throw-away-the-key’ attitude.

‘It’s almost a tectonic shift,’ said Ken Sikkema, former Republican leader in the Michigan Senate and House. ‘Even the people who have taken the position that we’ve got to be tough on crime are now saying, ‘We’ve got to be smart on crime.”

As is hardly shocking one of the prime areas being looked at is juvenile justice. Many of the “tough on crime” laws, the majority of which include mandatory sentencing language, have been more of a burden than a blessing.

It also illustrates why we chose the title It’s More Expensive to Do Nothing, for our documentary. Not only do we need to change our stance for the sake of our children and our communities, but also for the sake of our dwindling and increasingly strained state and federal budgets.

“What the research shows is when a youth ends up in adult prison, it has much harsher consequences for the youth” and for the community, said Michelle Weemhoff, a senior policy associate at the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Removed from their homes and communities and exposed to the more-hardened adult inmates, juveniles are likely to commit more crimes, she said. Weemhoff and her organization are urging lawmakers to consider alternatives to incarceration, including in-home placement for low-risk offenders.

MDOC says it spends, on average, about $33,000 a year for each prison inmate. Incarcerating youths in privately owned juvenile facilities costs about $200 a day, Weemhoff said. Placing youthful offenders in their own homes, where they can be supervised and participate in treatment programs, averages about $10 a day, she added.

The numbers are irrefutable, and should be embraced by any who lay claim to a stance of being a fiscal conservative. Since one out of every one hundred people in the United States is behind bars these dollar amounts rapidly soar into the stratosphere.

In Ohio Republican governor John Kasich signed a law geared toward diverting non-violent first time offenders into community based programs, rather than simply incarcerating them. It also allows inmates to earn points toward an early release by participating in vocational, mental health, and educational programs.

Just as importantly it also restored judges’ discretion when sentencing youths. Discretion that had been crippled by the wave of tough on crime laws passed across the nation in the ’80’s and ’90’s.

The new law also restored judges’ discretion to decide when youths should be charged as adults — and it offered alternatives to incarceration for young offenders.

The idea of justice reform is often viewed as a province of the liberal left, however the current reality is that more and more conservatives are embracing it now that they are becoming aware of the harsh financial realities. Let us hope this trend continues.

Are there bipartisan efforts like this going on in your state or local community? If so please chime in with a comment and tell us about them.

The University of Washington has a special online project, The Great Depression, that takes a hard look at Hoovervilles. For those not familiar with the term here is an explanation drawn from that website:

Homelessness followed quickly from joblessness once the economy began to crumble in the early 1930s. Homeowners lost their property when they could not pay mortgages or pay taxes. Renters fell behind and faced eviction. By 1932 millions of Americans were living outside the normal rent-paying housing market.

Many squeezed in with relatives. Unit densities soared in the early 1930s. Some squatted, either defying eviction and staying where they were, or finding shelter in one of the increasing number of vacant buildings.

And hundreds of thousands–no one knows how many–took to the streets, finding what shelter they could, under bridges, in culverts, or on vacant public land where they built crude shacks. Some cities allowed squatter encampments for a time, others did not.

The truly frightening thing is how much this resembles today. The BBC just released an in depth look at the rise of tent cities in the modern day U.S. The following description would not have been at all out of place in the headlines of Hoover’s era:

Just off the side of a motorway on the fringes of the picturesque town of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a mismatched collection of 30 tents tucked in the woods has become home – home to those who are either unemployed, or whose wages are so low that they can no longer afford to pay rent.

Conditions are unhygienic. There are no toilets and electricity is only available in the one communal tent where the campers huddle around a wood stove for warmth in the heart of winter.

Ice weighs down the roofs of tents, and rain regularly drips onto the sleeping campers’ faces.

Tent cities have sprung up in and around at least 55 American cities – they represent the bleak reality of America’s poverty crisis.

With unemployment the highest it’s been since the Great Depression, and state budgets being slashed left and right we should not be at all surprised by the societal fallout. After all, many of those budget cuts used to fund programs that cared for our nation’s poorest and most at risk members.

According to the BBC report there are currently about 5,000 people living in the dozens of homeless encampments that have sprung up over recent time. The largest one is Pinella’s Hope in central Florida which spans thirteen acres. With thirteen million unemployed Americans it is sad to say these numbers will probably grow.

Even in the best of times there is a stigma to homelessness for many people, one that exists even though the reasons for that homelessness are often beyond the individual’s control. This becomes more and more tragic as the number of people living on the streets increases.

The BBC piece closes by taking note of this:

The stark reality is that many of them are people who very recently lived comfortable middle-class lives.

For them, the economic downturn came too fast and many have been forced to trade their middle-class homes for lives in shelters, motels and at the far extreme, tented encampments.

Every day there are more stories about people who’ve become jobless due to austerity measures. The jump from jobless to homeless is a small one, and many end up on the streets every day.

In downTown: U.S.A. we looked at the homeless problem and possible ways to fix it, mostly centered on rehabilitation and educational programs. These are the exact programs under fire as the states tighten their belts, and the exact programs we need to support!

Image Source: John McNab on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license

Last November November 19-year-old Jade Holder was beaten to death. Holder was incarcerated at the Augusta Youth Development Campus (YDC) at the time.

Since then no less than eleven employees of the YDC have been fired. Gale Buckner, state Department of Juvenile Justice commissioner, told the press that criminal charges will be pursued after a joint investigation by her agency and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Summer Moore of The Augusta Chronicle reports:

‘I find this latest officer misconduct case particularly egregious,’ Buckner said. ‘Because the events and blatant policy violations that led to the termination of JCO Tracy Banks for inappropriate conduct occurred even after we publicly announced we were bringing in agents from DJJ and the GBI to open investigations into misconduct cases at the Augusta YDC.’

The firing came after a daylong lockdown on Jan. 24 while GBI agents and DJJ investigators interviewed all of the YDC’s employees looking for evidence of sexual misconduct and contraband, the release says.

‘Apparently we have some policy violators who might think we’re done, but we’re not,’ Buckner said. ‘After our administrative probe is complete, the GBI investigations will continue and then criminal charges will be pursued.’

It is a true shame not only that this behavior occurs at all, but even more so that it continued in flagrant defiance of Officer Banks in the face of the investigation. This, more than the sheer number of terminations, throws into stark relief just how dysfunctional the system is.

As long as we rely on a broken system of juvenile justice tragic stories like this will keep rearing their ugly heads. The entrenched problems being thrown into sharp relief in Augusta are a symptom of a wider rot that has spread through the fabric of our society, a rot based in a toxic combination of lost opportunities, poor education, substance abuse and mental illness.

Juvenile detention centers often act as training grounds for better criminals, but that is only the beginning. When the abuse is coming from the figures of authority the psychological ramifications are even more devastating.

Thankfully WJBF News 6 reports that more light may be shining on the subject in the near future:

Next month, the interim director of the YDC, Gary Jones will finish his term with the YDC, so we’ll get a closer look at how things are inside the facility.

News 6 also provides a complete timeline of events at the Augusta YDC for those who wish to take a closer look at the events leading up to this sorry state of affairs.

The state of juvenile justice in this country is horrible, but things will not change until more people demand it. It is to raise awareness of these deplorable situations that we are releasing Born, Not Raised: Voices from Juvenile Hall in March of this year. Please follow us on Facebook or Google+ for updates on it’s release!