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A push from the right: More conservatives joining fight to change sentencing guidelines
Since the late 1970s, rising crime has led lawmakers to require prison time for many non-violent offenses.
But some say eliminating the options of fines, work release, substance-abuse treatment and house arrest in favor of prison time can turn non-violent offenders into career criminals.
Now, as states face large budget deficits, calls for reforming sentencing for non-violent[...]
All is not lost: State never delivered financial incentive, but probation program found some success
The Legislature tried to give probation departments a financial incentive in 2008 to keep revocations and prison populations down.
However, lawmakers never came up with the money for the incentives. And this past session, lawmakers repealed the incentives program known as the Safe Communities Act (SCA). Even in the absence of the financial part, the program was considered a success by s[...]
Most death penalty rationales fray under scrutiny
In recent weeks, we’ve seen a criminal executed and another execution is scheduled pending a last-minute review. Every time Arizona doles out the most severe punishment humans have the capacity to inflict on one another, I find myself asking: When criminals are killed for their crimes, what are we hoping will result, and what actually results?
Bill shifts supervision of illegal immigrant juveniles to feds
Convicted Arizona juvenile offenders would be eligible to be turned over to federal immigration enforcement under legislation approved Jan. 19 by a Senate panel.
Border Patrol set on turning kids away from crime
Money, fancy cars and nice clothes a�� things that most young people desire. According to law enforcement, smugglers use promises of just that to lure middle- and high-schoolers into illegal activity such as smuggling drugs, people and even firearms.
Arizona courts may seek crackdown on probation officers
Probation officers who have sex with offenders they supervise, criminal defendants who fail to appear for court and the practice of tapping retired judges to serve on the bench are among the issues the state’s courts are considering for their 2011 legislative agenda.
Violent crime down nearly 14 percent in Arizona
Crime in Arizona dropped sharply in 2009, with overall violent crime down by 13.9 percent.
S1070: what’s blocked, what’s not
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton on July 28 temporarily suspended major portions of Arizona's new immigration law. Here’s a breakdown of the provisions of S1070 that are blocked, and which parts will take effect July 29.
Prosecutors: US-Mexico gun smuggling is challenge
State prosecutors meeting at a conference Dec. 2 said the illegal flow of guns from the United States to Mexican drug cartels poses one of the biggest challenges in trying to reduce violence along America's southern border.
