Category: FBI

DEA: Teens ‘I Choose my Future’ and Teens increase in Vaping

You could hear a pin drop as 700 Boise middle school students hear DEA’s #ICHOOSEMYFUTURE DEA Caribbean, DEA San Diego and DEA Seattle challenged kids know their why & chose their futures. Dont be copy, be yourself. Way to deliver Bobby and Rocky! #drugsaresonotcool

Seattle DEA Twitter
Overall, the #MTF2018 survey found within the past year, teens in all three grades have greatly increased use of “any vaping” (i.e. nicotine, marijuana), raising the possibility of teens transitioning to smoking tobacco cigarettes within the next few years.

Seattle Police Department: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)

Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a pre-booking diversion pilot program developed with the community to address low-level drug and prostitution crimes in the Belltown neighborhood in Seattle and the Skyway area of unincorporated King County. The program allows law enforcement officers to redirect low-level offenders engaged in drug or prostitution activity to community-based services, instead of jail and prosecution. By diverting eligible individuals to services, LEAD is committed to improving public safety and public order, and reducing the criminal behavior of people who participate in the program.

About LEAD
Frequently Asked Questions
LEAD Policy Coordinating Group

Funders
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a new innovative pilot program that was developed with the community to address low-level drug and prostitution crimes in the Belltown neighborhood in Seattle and the Skyway area of unincorporated King County. LEAD will divert low-level drug and prostitution offenders into community-based treatment and support services – including housing, healthcare, job training, treatment and mental health support — instead of processing them through traditional criminal justice system avenues.

A unique coalition of law enforcement agencies, public officials, and community groups collaborated to create this pilot program. These groups make up LEAD’s Policy Coordinating Group, which governs the program.

LEAD’s goal is to improve public safety and public order, and to reduce the criminal behavior of people who participate in the program. The program will be thoroughly evaluated to determine whether it has been successful or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are frequently asked questions about LEAD. If you have further questions about the program, please contact us.

What is LEAD?

LEAD is a pre-booking diversion program that allows officers to redirect low-level offenders engaged in drugs or prostitution activity to community-based services instead of jail and prosecution. LEAD participants begin working immediately with case managers to access services. LEAD’s goals are to reduce the harm a drug offender causes him or herself, as well as the harm that the individual is causing the surrounding community. This public safety program has the potential to reduce recidivism rates for low-level offenders and preserve expensive criminal justice system resources for more serious or violent offenders.

How does LEAD differ from other drug programs?

First, LEAD is the result of a commitment from law enforcement agencies, public officials, and community organizations to work together in implementing a new approach to addressing drug and prostitution activity. Second, the diversion in LEAD is made at the pre-booking stage, in the hopes of bypassing the costs and time entailed in booking, charging, and requiring court appearances of an individual. Finally, LEAD provides participants with immediate case management services, and access to additional resources not available through existing public programs.

Who is eligible for diversion into LEAD?

Individuals who are arrested for eligible offenses within specified boundaries for Belltown or Skyway may be diverted into LEAD. Eligible offenses include low-level drug offenses, and engaging in prostitution. Individuals who have certain violent offenses in their criminal history are ineligible for diversion.

Who designed LEAD?

LEAD is the result of an unusual collaboration among diverse stakeholders. Collaborators include the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, the Seattle Police Department, the King County Sheriff’s Office, the King County Executive, the Mayor’s Office, The Washington State Department of Corrections, The Defender Association, the ACLU of Washington, and community members. The collaboration of these stakeholders was motivated by a shared dissatisfaction with the outcomes and costs of traditional drug law enforcement.

Who runs LEAD?

As noted, LEAD is the result of a collaboration among a number of stakeholders. All stakeholders are represented on LEAD’s Policy Coordinating Group, and the group makes decisions by consensus via a memorandum of understanding. LEAD is entirely voluntary, and any stakeholder may choose to withdraw from LEAD at any time.

Who will provide services to LEAD participants?

LEAD stakeholders have contracted with Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS) to provide services to LEAD participants. ETS has provided addiction treatment services in Washington for over 30 years, and has been actively involved in federally-funded research projects. ETS’ REACH Program has been a key provider in the delivery of street outreach services to chronically homeless and chemically addicted adults in Seattle for 15 years. ETS will follow harm reduction principles and will attempt to provide immediate access to services.

How will we know if LEAD works?

All LEAD stakeholders are committed to evaluating the program rigorously. The evaluation will consider, among other factors, whether LEAD has resulted in reductions in drug use and recidivism, whether LEAD is more cost-effective than traditional criminal justice processing, and whether LEAD has had a positive impact on a community’s quality of life.

How much will LEAD cost the City of Seattle and King County?

Nothing. LEAD stakeholders obtained funding from private foundations to implement the program. Its funders include the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Vital Projects Fund, RiverStyx Foundation, Massena Foundation, and the Social Justice Fund Northwest.

Do community members support LEAD?

Community members strongly support LEAD. LEAD will be piloted first in Belltown, and then in Skyway (in partnership with the King County Sheriff’s Office). Members of both communities have participated in the program’s design, and will continue to provide feedback about the program. For example, the LEAD Community Advisory Board in Belltown includes representatives from the Belltown Community Council, Belltown Business Association, Downtown Seattle Association/Metropolitan Improvement District, Recovery Café, YWCA, Plymouth Housing Group, and Millionair Club Charity. The LEAD Community Advisory Board in Skyway includes representatives from Skyway United Methodist Church, Westhill Community Council, and Skyway Solutions.

For how long will LEAD be implemented?

LEAD formally began on October 1, 2011. The program is anticipated to run for two years before an evaluation is begun, and to continue with foundation funding for an additional two years while the evaluation is conducted and analyzed. If LEAD is found to be effective, an ongoing source of funding will be sought.

Have programs like LEAD been implemented elsewhere?

LEAD was inspired by “arrest-referral” programs in the United Kingdom. Those programs have recently been implemented in virtually every police department in the United Kingdom because pilot projects proved to be so effective.

Policy Coordinating Group
LEAD is governed by a Policy Coordinating Group. The group makes decisions by consensus via a memorandum of understanding. LEAD is entirely voluntary, and any stakeholder may choose to withdraw from LEAD at any time. The members include:

Seattle Office of the Mayor
King County Executive Office
Seattle City Council
King County Council
Seattle City Attorney’s Office
King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Seattle Police Department
King County Sheriff’s Office
Washington Department of Corrections
Belltown LEAD Community Advisory Board
Skyway LEAD Community Advisory Board
The Defender Association, Racial Disparity Project
ACLU of Washington, Drug Policy Project

Funders
LEAD is currently operating as a pilot program and is being funded by private foundations. It is hoped that LEAD will eventually find permanent funding from public sources. The cost-effectiveness of the program will be studied in detail as part of the evaluation for LEAD.

Current funders include:

Ford Foundation
Open Society Foundations
Vital Projects Fund
RiverStyx Foundation
Massena Foundation
The Social Justice Fund Northwest

Prison Reform and Redemption Act 2018

LIVE: President Donald Trump Delivers Remarks At Prison Reform Summit – May 18, 2018 | CNBC

Summary: H.R.3356 — 115th Congress (2017-2018)All Information (Except Text)
There is one summary for H.R.3356. Bill summaries are authored by CRS.

Introduced in House (07/24/2017)
Prison Reform and Redemption Act

This bill directs the Department of Justice to develop the Post-Sentencing Risk and Needs Assessment System for use by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to assess prisoner recidivism risk; guide housing, grouping, and program assignments; and incentivize and reward participation in and completion of recidivism reduction programs and productive activities.

It amends the federal criminal code to:

require the BOP to implement the Post-Sentencing Risk and Needs Assessment System;
establish prerelease custody procedures for prisoners who, among other things, earn time credits for successfully completing recidivism reduction programs or productive activities;
prohibit, subject to specified exceptions, the use of restraints on federal prisoners who are pregnant or in postpartum recovery; and
broaden the duties of probation and pretrial services officers to include court-directed supervision of sex offenders conditionally released from civil commitment.
The BOP must:

incorporate de-escalation techniques into its training programs;
report on its ability to treat heroin and opioid abuse through medication-assisted treatment;
establish pilot programs on youth mentorship and service to abandoned, rescued, or vulnerable animals; and
designate a release preparation coordinator at each facility that houses prisoners.
The bill prohibits monitoring the contents of an electronic communication between a prisoner at a BOP facility and the prisoner’s attorney.

It amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to reauthorize through FY2022 and modify eligibility criteria for an elderly offender early release pilot program.

Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2017

The bill amends the federal criminal code to require the BOP to allow federal correctional officers to securely store and carry concealed firearms on BOP premises outside the security perimeter of a prison.

Meth, the Forgotten Killer, Is Back. And It’s Everywhere

PORTLAND, Ore. — They huddled against the biting wind, pacing from one corner to another hoping to score heroin or pills. But a different drug was far more likely to be on offer outside the train station downtown, where homeless drug users live in tents pitched on the sidewalk.

“Everybody has meth around here — everybody,” said Sean, a 27-year-old heroin user who hangs out downtown and gave only his first name. “It’s the easiest to find.”

The scourge of crystal meth, with its exploding labs and ruinous effect on teeth and skin, has been all but forgotten amid national concern over the opioid crisis. But 12 years after Congress took aggressive action to curtail it, meth has returned with a vengeance.

Visit The New York Times Website

Department of Justice to Launch Inaugural National Heroin and Opioid Awareness Week

Attorney General Lynch will Travel to Lexington, Kentucky as Part of the Justice Department’s Awareness Campaign to Address the Rising Public Health Crisis of Drug Addiction

The Obama Administration is announcing a “week of action” to raise awareness about the rising public health crisis caused by drug overdoses. As part of this effort, the Department of Justice designated the week of Sept.18-23, 2016, as National Heroin and Opioid Awareness Week. Senior Department of Justice officials, members of the President’s Cabinet and other federal agencies will hold events focused on the work being done to address the national prescription opioid and heroin epidemic.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will travel to Lexington, Kentucky on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2016, to hold a youth town hall at a local high school; meet with parents who have lost their children due to overdoses and now belong to the Heroin Education Action Team (H.E.A.T.); and deliver a policy speech regarding the actions and resources the Justice Department is bringing to bear on this issue.

“The heroin and opioid epidemic is one of the most urgent law enforcement and public health challenges facing our country,” said Attorney General Lynch. “Through National Heroin and Opioid Awareness Week, the Department of Justice seeks to raise awareness and prevent new victims from succumbing to addiction; to highlight the department’s ongoing commitment to holding accountable traffickers and others responsible for this epidemic; and to help provide treatment to those grappling with addiction. To be successful in this important endeavor, we need the help of all our federal, tribal, state and local partners. In the months ahead, we will continue working to erase this scourge from our communities and to ensure a brighter future for all Americans.”

Mayor Murray addresses police reform and accountability

Mayor Murray addresses police reform and accountability
July 7, 2016 by Office of the Mayor

Today, Mayor Ed Murray delivered the following remarks regarding the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, and police reform and accountability:

As I have said many times before, the issue of race and racism is the greatest challenge we face as a country, particularly as racism impacts the black community.

This week, within 24 hours, two black men, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling were killed by police officers.

I am deeply disturbed by police action resulting in the death of any person. And today my thoughts are with the victims’ families, children, and loved ones during this extremely difficult and sad time.

I know the black community are walking with a heavy heart and a sense of outrage, injustice and fear. Had Castile or Sterling been white, I believe they would still be here with us today.

Their deaths are two in a long line of tragedies that feed mistrust between communities of color and the police, particularly the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and children of black men.

As I have said on the night of the Ferguson grand jury verdict, we cannot let this gulf of mistrust divide us and continue to cause this fear and pain.

This is why we must get police reform right in Seattle.

The Department of Justice should lead the investigations into these killings.

The shooting deaths of black men at the hands of police have brought the attention of the Department of Justice to many cities across the nation, including our own.

Since I became mayor, this City has been committed to working with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the federal courts to make dramatic reforms in the Seattle Police Department to comply with the federally mandated consent decree.

In partnership with the Department of Justice and the Federal Monitor that oversees our consent decree, we are creating a model Force Review Board that is being replicated across the country.

The Force Review Board reviews every serious use of force by a Seattle Police Officer. And present at every Force Review Board are representatives from the Department of Justice, the Monitoring Team, a civilian representative from the Office of Professional Accountability, and a citizen observer.

So unlike Minneapolis or Louisiana, the Department of Justice is already here, and we are working with them closely to create best practices in reviewing police uses of force.

Where other jurisdictions are just now contemplating where to start, we are already well down the road of reform, and other cities are coming to us to learn from our experience.

In fact, Chief O’Toole is in D.C. today at the Center of Policing Equity to speak at an event sponsored by the Department of Justice about the issues of race and policing.

In the coming months, I will send legislation to Seattle City Council that will expand and strengthen civilian oversight and independent review of the Seattle Police Department.

It is my goal to create a permanent citizen oversight commission that is the strongest in this city’s history.

It is my goal to create a more independent director of the police accountability process, on the model of the ethics and elections commission, which is completely independent of the mayor and council.

It is my goal to create a stronger auditor of the police discipline process on the model of an inspector general, with greater authority to investigate complaints.

And we will use a community process similar to the one used to hire Chief O’Toole to hire for these new roles.

As we move forward, our conversation cannot be about blaming black men, it must be about changing our institutions and systems.

As a white man, I stand as an ally in solidary with the black community.

But I cannot pretend to know their experience.

I cannot know the experience of black men and women everywhere, who live everyday with the fear that one small action of their part could make them the next victim.

I cannot know the experience of raising a black child in our society, and the daily worry that today might be the day they do not come home because they were taken by a bullet.

What I do know is that white Americans have work to do. We, the beneficiaries of hundreds of years of structural inequality, must use our privilege to construct a more just society.

This has been my commitment every single day as mayor.

Everything we have accomplished during my time in this office…

…pre-k, the minimum wage, transit, priority hire, parks and community centers, police reform, summer youth employment, our education summit…

…they are our response to addressing the issue of race and inequality.

To Seattle’s residents of color, your city cares about you. Your lives matter. The fact that we even need to state that Black Lives Matter is the result of our failure to address racism in our society.

To white residents of Seattle, let us work with our sisters and brothers of color to end structural and institutional racism.”

– See more at: http://murray.seattle.gov/mayor-murray-addresses-police-reform-and-accountability/#sthash.ARaN9TA2.IRKcdSfy.dpuf

Mayor delivers remarks on officer involved shootings
7/7/201631:11

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray delivers remarks on the recent officer involved shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

http://www.seattlechannel.org/embedvideoplayer?videoid=x66208

Lets STOP Child Pornography

Washington’s not-so-little dirty secret
Police ‘overwhelmed’ as state leads the nation in child pornography

From: Seattle PI
Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen

U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Bryan Molnar, center, led and assisted in dozens of child pornography investigations in the Northwest. He’s pictured above with Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson

Cecelia Gregson, a senior deputy prosecutor with the King County Prosecutor’s Office, has recently been pursuing child pornographers in federal court.

“There are some sections of the depictions world that are unimaginable, really, on any level,” said Cecelia Gregson, a state prosecutor who for two years has been hauling some of the Seattle area’s most egregious offenders into federal court.