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News Article Colorlines August 23, 2012

Report: Deportation Program Costs L.A. County More Than $26 Million

Los Angeles County is spending an estimated $26 million a year to hold undocumented immigrants under the Secure Communities program, according to a report released Thursday by Justice Strategies. Secure Communities, also known as S-Comm, checks the legal status of anyone booked into a local jail and transfers those who are undocumented to ICE custody.

Among the report’s findings:

  • Los Angeles County taxpayers spend over $26 million per year to detain immigrants for ICE.
  • Individuals in Los Angeles County custody who are subject to immigration detainers spend, on average, 20.6 extra days in county custody.
  • California taxpayers spend an estimated $65 million annually to detain immigrants for ICE.
  • Based on L.A. County averages the report concludes S-Comm is costing the state an estimated $65 million.
JS Publication August 23, 2012

The Cost of Responding to Immigration Detainers in California

In our criminal justice system, detainers to hold individuals wanted by law enforcement agencies are issued by judges after they have reviewed the underlying circumstances leading to the request. Immigration detainers, or “ICE holds” are issued by ICE administrative officials without the benefit of judicial review. In this preliminary report, based on data from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Justice Strategies finds that the cost to Los Angeles of complying with these administrative requests is more than $26 million annually.

 

JS Update April 27, 2012

Judy Greene on The Sunday Show with Philip Maldari

Judith Greene joins the second hour of The Sunday Show with Philip Maldari, April 15, 2012, KPFA Berkeley CA, to discuss with John Hamilton, sitting in for the host, the Federal Immigration Detention System's use of for-profit private prisons and the Al Jazeera Faultlines film "Punishment and Profits: Immigration Detention" in which she also appears.

JS Publication December 29, 2011

When the Cost is Too Great: The emotional and psychological impact on children of incarcerating their parents for drug offences

In the article, When the Cost is too Great: The emotional and psychological impact on children of incarcerating their parents for drug offences, Pat Allard summarizes the key findings and recommendations of the Justice Strategies report Children on the Outside: Voicing the pain and human costs of parental incarceration, co-author with Director Judith Greene. The article highlights for judges and court service personnel the findings and conclusions of Justice Strategies’ study and is expected to be published in the law journal, Family Court Review, in early 2012.

News Article McClatchy Newspapers November 1, 2011

Supreme Court case tests private prison vs. inmate rights

WASHINGTON — Prison hurt Richard Lee Pollard, in more than the usual ways.

Now, from improbable beginnings, the Supreme Court will examine Pollard’s treatment at a privately run California facility. The outcome could either shield or render more vulnerable the fast-growing private prison industry, not to mention what it might do for Pollard’s own post-prison life.

JS Update November 4, 2011

Judy Greene on Legalease

Justice Strategies' Director Judith Greene discusses prison sentencing reform in Arizona with State Representative and House Judiciary Committee member Cecil Ash and Maricopa County Deputy Chief of Probation, Therese Wagner, on Phoenix's legal talk radio show Legalease with Dennis Wilenchik. Sitting in for the host was Jack Wilenchik. The show originally aired October 26, 2011 from 4 to 5 PM (MT) on 1100 AM KFNX.

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News Article The Arizona Republic October 9, 2011

Arizona prison sentences among toughest for many crimes

Whether it's putting a shoplifter behind bars for three years or a child-porn user away for 200 years, Arizona imposes among the longest, harshest sentences of any state in the country for a wide variety of crimes.

Politically, that has been popular, but the practice carries a hefty price tag. This year, the state will spend more than $1 billion to keep prisoners behind bars, and that figure will balloon if Arizona carries out plans to build or contract for as many as 6,500 new prison beds over the next five years.

JS Publication March 28, 2011

Numbers Game: The Vicious Cycle of Incarceration in Mississippi's Criminal Justice System

On March 28, 2011, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Mississippi in collaboration with Justice Strategies released NUMBERS GAME: The Vicious Cycle of Incarceration in Mississippi’s Criminal Justice System. The report's examination of the State's drug enforcement and sentencing system, co-authored by Judith Greene and Patricia Allard, raises troubling concerns about the focus of federally funded drug task forces, the unchecked use of confidential informants and the cumulative negative impact these law enforcement tactics have on relationships between police and the community. The report concludes that there are serious structural problems in Mississippi's drug enforcement and sentencing scheme sufficient to require reform efforts that would enhance public safety, protect civil rights and ensure the state’s fiscal solvency.

Major findings in the NUMBERS GAME report include that: Read more »

News Article The Arizona Republic February 2, 2011

Arizona defense lawyers urge sentencing reforms

Defense attorneys on Tuesday called for a raft of sentencing reforms they said would save money and put Arizona in line with other states that have reduced prison populations and lowered crime rates.

But the group likely will have a tough time convincing a majority of lawmakers.

News Article Pheonix New Times February 1, 2011

Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice Release New Report on Sentencing Reform

Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice (AACJ) held a press conference this morning to announce the release of a report highlighting the need for sentencing reform. The study, conducted by Judith Greene of Justice Strategies, notes that the state's criminal justice policies have "been among the harshest in the nation for many years" -- and are no longer fiscally viable.