Office of Justice Programs Weekly News Brief

WASHINGTON, June 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Office of Justice Programs - U.S. Department of Justice:

Tune in — Today Laurie O. Robinson, Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Assistant Attorney General, talks with David Onek of The Criminal Justice Conversations Podcast on http://www.law.berkeley.edu/cjconversations.htm. Robinson outlined her priorities, including integrating criminal justice evidence-based research into program and policy decisions and improving the translation of this research into practice. The podcast is a co-production of the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice and the Berkeley School of Journalism.

Jail Population Declines — According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) recently released report, Jail Inmates at Midyear 2009 — Statistical Tables, during the 12-month period ending June 20, 2009, the local jail population declined by 2.3 percent (down 17, 936 inmates).  This is the first decline in the U.S. jail population since BJS implemented the Annual Survey of Jails in 1982. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2010/BJS10079.htm

The BJS also released Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2006, which presents data collected from a sample of felony cases filed in the nation's 75 most populous counties during May 2006.  The research found that 43 percent of felony defendants had at least one prior felony conviction. The cases are tracked for up to one year to provide a complete overview of the processing of felony defendants from filing to disposition and sentencing.  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2010/BJS10075.htm

Nominations for 2009-2010 Medal of Valor — The OJP is accepting nominations for the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor until 8 p.m., EDT, on Saturday, July 31, 2010.  The Medal of Valor is the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer.  The medal is awarded by the President to public safety officers cited by the Attorney General for having exhibited exceptional courage in protecting or saving lives.  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2010/BJA10077.htm

Upcoming Events:

National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Conference, June 14-16, 2010, Arlington, VA — Laurie O. Robinson, OJP's Assistant Attorney General, will deliver opening remarks at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, June 14.   Mary Lou Leary, OJP's Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, will moderate a plenary panel, "Rising from the Ashes — What We have Learned from the Cameron Todd Willingham Case," at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, June 14. The panel will consist of Itiel Dror, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, University College London, United Kingdom; John Lentini, President and Principal Investigator, Scientific Fire Analysis LLC, Big Pine Key, Fla.; and Michael Logan Ware, Chief, Special Fields Bureau, Dallas County District Attorneys Office. Laurence Tribe, Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Initiative, U.S. Department of Justice, will deliver the luncheon and keynote address.http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/events/nij_conference/welcome.htm

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15, 2010 — In addition to suffering abuse, neglect or exploitation, it's estimated that elders throughout the United States lose a minimum of $2.6 billion annually due to financial abuse and exploitation.  OJP is one of several federal offices commemorating World Elder Awareness Day in an event on Tuesday, June 15, at 10 a.m. in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Great Hall of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, DC.   http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/265/elder-abuse.htm  and http://www.ncjrs.gov/elderabuse/  

OJP10084

SOURCE Office of Justice Programs - U.S. Department of Justice