Grants for Innovative Technologies for Public Safety

Grants for Innovative Technologies for Public Safety is sponsored by Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). This program supports the assessment of public service and safety requirements and the implementation of responsive strategies across Massachusetts.

# Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Office of Grants and Research Newsletter The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Office of Grants and Research • FFY 2011 Traffic Enforcement Grant Program • FFY 2010 Homeland Security Grant Program • National Bicycle and Pedestrian Clearinghouse, Federal Highway Administration • Scholarships for the NIJ Conference, National Institute of Justice • Internet Crimes Against Child Deconfliction System Program, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention • National Legal Resource Center and Technical Support Projects, Department of Health and Human Services • Enhanced Training to End Violence Against and Abuse of Women Later in Life Program, Office on Violence Against Women • Applied Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes, National Institute of Justice • Research on Violence and Victimization Across the Life-Span, National Institute of Justice • Forensic Science Training Delivery and Research Program, National Institute of Justice • Basic Scientific Research to Support Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes, National Institute of Justice • Second Chance Act Adult Mentoring Grants to Nonprofit Organizations, Bureau of Justice Assistance Research and Publications p.

5 - 7 • Weapon-related Injuries to Massachusetts Residents 1994 – 2007, Massachusetts Department of Public Health • Report of the National Summit on Justice Reinvestment and Public Safety, Council of State Governments • Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional Authorities, 2007–2008, Bureau of Justice Statistics • One Year Longitudinal Study of the Psychological Effects of Administrative Segregation, National Institute of Justice • Police Science: Toward a New Paradigm, National Institute of Justice • Governing Science, National Institute of Justice • Pilot Study Final Report on Statewide Judicial Data for NJRP, The Urban Institute • Making Sense of DNA Backlogs, 2010 — Myths vs. Reality, National Institute of Justice • Daring to Fail: First-person Stories of Criminal Justice Reform, Center for Court Innovation Conferences and Trainings p.

7 - 9 • Owning Up Curriculum: A Training with Rosalind Wiseman, Essex District Attorney • The Right to Counsel: Standards & Solutions in a Downturned Economy, Bureau of Justice Assistance • 2011 Shaping the Future, Honoring the Past: Seeking Healing Through Justice, Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance • The Eleventh Crime Mapping Research Conference: Crime, Social Ills, and Place-based Solutions, National Institute of Justice • Mock Prison Riot, National Institute of Justice • Innovative Technologies for Corrections Conference, Justice Technology Information Network • NIJ Conference: Translational Criminology - Shaping Policy and Practice With Research, National Institute of Justice • Trace Evidence Symposium: Science, Significance and Impact, National Institute of Justice • Sixth National Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Training Conference, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention February 2011 The following funding descriptions are taken directly from the official applications.

FFY 2011 Traffic Enforcement Grant Program Application Deadline: Open, rolling-enrollment through July 29, 2011 The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Highway Safety Division, announces the continued availability of approximately $650,000 in federal grant funding in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2011 for municipal, college and university law enforcement agencies with Chapter 90 arrest powers to participate in the two remaining high visibility traffic enforcement mobilizations in May – June and August – September.

The grant application and related paperwork are posted on our website, www. mass. gov/highwaysafety under the “FFY 2011 Traffic Enforcement Grant Program” link.

FFY 2010 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) Application Deadline: March 11, 2011 The Executive Office of Public Safely and Security, through this Availability of Grant Funds, announces that a portion of the twenty-percent (20%) state-share of the FFY 2010 HSGP funding is available for eligible applicants. For more information: www. mass.

gov/eops (click on Funding & Training Opportunities, Homeland Security, FFY 2010 State-Share Application for Grant Funding) or contact Stephen. Tapis@state. ma.

us. The following funding descriptions are taken directly from the official applications. National Bicycle and Pedestrian Clearinghouse Federal Highway Administration Application Deadline: March 2, 2011 The Federal Highway Administration is accepting applications for a cooperative agreement to operate a National Bicycle and Pedestrian Clearinghouse.

The recipient will be required to (1) operate a national bicycle and pedestrian clearinghouse, (2) develop information and educational programs, and (3) disseminate techniques and strategies for improving bicycle and pedestrian safety. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has stressed the importance of considering walking and bicycling in all transportation projects.

The National Bicycle and Pedestrian Clearinghouse will provide support > •10 high-level sex offenders sought by State Police, The Boston Globe > •Time serving, The Boston Globe > •Hearings to be held on bullying law in Mass. , The Boston Herald > •White House says no to emergency AK-47 regulation, The Boston Globe > •Rep.

Keating slams security in wake of stowaway death, The Boston Globe > •Cambridge records 0 murders in 2010, Cambridge Chronicle > •State rejects compensation for wrongly convicted man, The Houston Chronicle > •State’s bills soar for legal aid to poor, The Boston Globe > •Gang violence trend eyed on buses, The Boston Herald > •Report Details Sabotage of Birth Control, The New York Times > •State police report Most Wanted offender caught, The Boston Herald > •BJS develops new UCR data access tool for the FBI 3for communities across the country that want to make walking and bicycling safer and more convenient.

> For more information: http://www07. grants. gov/search/search.

do? &mode=VIEW&oppId=69733 Scholarships for the NIJ Conference National Institute of Justice Application Deadline: March 18, 2011 The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is offering a limited amount of needs-based scholarships for the 2011 NIJ Conference. The conference itself is free; the scholarships cover accommodations at the conference hotel and provide a $150 per diem.

Applicants must be public or nonprofit sector employees, criminal justice researchers or practitioners in one of the following areas: corrections, courts, crime prevention, forensics, law enforcement, science and technology, or victim advocacy. Current NIJ grantees and past scholarship winners are not eligible. Current NIJ grantees are not eligible.

> For more information: http://www. ojp. usdoj.

gov/%2fnij%2fevents%2fnij_conference%2fscholarships.

htm OJJDP FY 2011 Internet Crimes Against Child Deconfliction System Program Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Application Deadline: March 28, 2011 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) seeks to award funding for the construction, maintenance, and housing of an Internet Crimes Against Children Data System (IDS) and related tasks, including providing training and technical assistance to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces and their federal law enforcement partners on the use of the system.

IDS will facilitate online law enforcement investigations of child exploitation; promote data deconfliction and information sharing among ICAC Task Forces and ICAC-affiliated law enforcement; and enhance the capacity of OJJDP to collect and aggregate data on the extent of child exploitation. > For more information: http://www. ojjdp.

gov/grants/solicitations/FY2011/ICACIDS. pdf National Legal Resource Center and Technical Support Projects Department of Health and Human Services Application Deadline: March 28, 2011 The National Legal Resource Center (NLRC) disseminates knowledge that enhances the quality and effectiveness of state and local efforts to provide legal assistance and elder rights protections.

To this end, the NLRC provides access to case consultation, training, technical assistance, and other informational resources to states, area agencies on aging, legal providers, and other organizations that provide supportive services directly to persons over the age of 60. > For more information: http://www. aoa.

gov/AoARoot/Grants/Funding/docs/2011/FY11_NLRC_PA_021011.

pdf 2011 Enhanced Training and Services to End Violence Against and Abuse of Women Later in Life Program Office on Violence Against Women Application Deadline: March 30, 2011 This program provides training and services to address elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, involving victims who are 50 years of age or older. > For more information: http://www. ovw.

usdoj. gov/docs/enhanced-training-services.

pdf Applied Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes National Institute of Justice Application Deadline: April 5, 2011 The intent of the Applied Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes Program is to direct the findings of basic scientific research, research and development in broader scientific fields applicable to forensic science, and ongoing forensic science research toward the development of highly discriminating, cost-effective, and rapid methods for the analysis and interpretation of physical evidence for criminal justice purposes.

With this solicitation, the National Institute of Justice seeks proposals for applied research and development projects that will: (1) increase knowledge or understanding necessary to guide forensic science policy and practice, or (2) result in the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods that have the potential for forensic application. > For more information: http://www. ncjrs.

gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000944. pdf Research on Violence and Victimization Across the Life-Span National Institute of Justice > For more information: http://ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000969.

pdf Forensic Science Training Delivery and Research Program National Institute of Justice Application Deadline: April 11, 2011 With this solicitation, the National Institute of Justice seeks proposals for forensic science education projects that will: (1) increase the number of no-cost educational opportunities for public crime laboratory personnel and practitioners in forensic science disciplines, (2) provide forensic science training to other relevant criminal justice partners and professionals involved in treating victims of sexual assault, and (3) support targeted research of formal and informal forensic science training programs employed by the forensic science community at the state and local levels.

> For more information: http://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000949.

pdf Basic Scientific Research to Support Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes National Institute of Justice Application Deadline: April 12, 2011 With this solicitation, the National Institute of Justice seeks proposals for funding basic scientific research in the physical, life, and cognitive sciences that is designed to increase the knowledge underlying forensic science disciplines intended for use in the criminal justice system.

> For more information: http://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000945.

pdf BJA FY 11 Second Chance Act Adult Mentoring Grants to Nonprofit Organizations Bureau of Justice Assistance Application Deadline: April 21, 2011 The Second Chance Act of 2007 provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of incarcerated adults and juveniles who are released from prison, jail, and juvenile residential facilities and returning to communities. There are currently over 2.

3 million individuals serving time in our federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycling through local jails every year. There are approximately 94,000 youth in residential confinement within the juvenile justice system on any given day. Ninety-five percent of all offenders incarcerated today will eventually be released and will return to communities.

The purpose of the Second Chance Act is to ensure that the transition individuals make from prison, jail, or juvenile residential facilities to the community is successful and promotes public safety. > For more information: http://www. ojp.

usdoj. gov/BJA/grant/11SecondChanceMentoringSol. pdf # Research and Publications Weapon-related Injuries to Massachusetts Residents 1994 – 2007 Massachusetts Department of Public Health August 2009 In 1989, the Injury Surveillance Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health developed a surveillance system to monitor selected weapon injuries treated within Massachusetts acute care hospital emergency departments.

This report examines this data from the beginning of statewide reporting in 1994 through 2007. The case inclusion is based on the reporting mandate and includes all gun injury cases regardless of intent (assault, self-inflicted, unintentional or “accidental”, and unspecified or undetermined intent) and sharp instrument wound cases resulting from assault-related incidents. > For full text: http://www.

mass. gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/injury_surveillance/wriss_residents_94_07. pdf Report of the National Summit on Justice Reinvestment and Public Safety Council of State Governments January 2011 The Council of State Governments Justice Center and partner organizations convened the National Summit on Justice Reinvestment and Public Safety on January 27, 2010, in Washington, D.

C. Supported by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, the goal of this meeting was to highlight data-driven, fiscally responsible policies and practices that increase public safety and reduce recidivism and spending on corrections. This report summarizes the remarks, research, and case studies highlighted during the summit.

It is meant to assist Congress and practitioners by providing a concise articulation of four key “what works” principles to reduce recidivism and increase public safety. > For more information: http://www. ojp.

usdoj. gov/BJA/pdf/CSG_JusticeReinvestmentSummitReport.

pdf Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional Authorities, 2007–2008 Bureau of Justice Statistics January 2011 On behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, staff of the Governments Division of the U.S. Census Bureau mailed survey forms to correctional administrators in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, state prison systems, public and private jails, private prisons, jails in Indian country, and facilities operated by the U.S. military and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Administrators provided counts of the four types of sexual victimization that occurred during the prior calendar year: inmate-on-inmate February 2011 6nonconsensual sexual acts, inmate-on-inmate abusive sexual contacts, staff sexual misconduct, and staff sexual harassment. This report expounds on the trends in these data. > For more information: http://bjs.

ojp. usdoj. gov/content/pub/pdf/svraca0708.

pdf One Year Longitudinal Study of the Psychological Effects of Administrative Segregation Sponsored by National Institute of Justice January 2011 One of the most widely debated topics in the field of corrections – the use of long-term administrative segregation (AS) – has suffered from a lack of empirical research.

Critics have argued that the conditions of AS confinement exacerbate symptoms of mental illness and create mental illness where none previously existed. The scant empirical research conducted to date suffers from research bias and serious methodological flaws. This study seeks to advance the literature in this regard.

This study tested three hypotheses: (1) offenders in AS would develop an array of psychological symptoms consistent with the security housing unit syndrome, (2) offenders with and without mental illness would deteriorate over time in AS, but at a rate more rapid and extreme for the mentally ill, and (3) inmates in AS would experience greater psychological deterioration over time than the comparison groups.

> For more information: http://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232973.

pdf Police Science: Toward a New Paradigm National Institute of Justice January 2011 This is one in a series of papers that will be published as a result of the Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety.

The authors believe that the advancement of science in policing is essential if police are to retain public support and legitimacy, cope with recessionary budget reductions, and if the policing industry is to alleviate the problems that have become a part of the policing task. In this paper, the authors outline a proposal for a new paradigm that changes the relationship between science and policing.

This paradigm demands that the police adopt and advance evidence-based policy and that universities become active participants in the everyday world of police practice. But it also calls for a shift in ownership of police science from the universities to police agencies.

According to the paper, such ownership would facilitate the implementation of evidence-based practices and policies in policing and would change the fundamental relationship between research and practice. > For more information: http://www. ncjrs.

gov/pdffiles1/nij/228922. pdf National Institute of Justice January 2011 This is one in a series of papers that will be published as a result of the Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety. In this paper, the authors echo many of the familiar themes of the evidence-based policing movement, which espouses a very particular vision of how the relationship between scholars and police should work.

This paper presents a diagnosis of how and why the authors believe that the relationship currently fails. > For more information: http://www. ncjrs.

gov/pdffiles1/nij/232179. pdf Pilot Study Final Report on Statewide Judicial Data for NJRP February 2011 The National Judicial Report Program (NJRP) has provided case-level data on felony convictions and sentencing in state courts for over 25 years. Conducted biennially, the NJRP dataset includes information on offenses, convictions, penalties, and demographic characteristics such as age, race and February 2011 7gender.

Recent iterations of NJRP have found that sentencing and conviction data are increasingly stored on centralized systems at the state level, covering all or most of a state. Sizeable gains in both cost and statistical efficiency could be realized by gathering sentencing and conviction data for entire states rather than from samples of counties.

As part of NJRP’s redesign efforts, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has asked the Urban Institute to assess the feasibility of statewide data collection. This memo synthesizes their finding from this effort. > For more information: http://www.

ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/bjs/grants/233456. pdf Making Sense of DNA Backlogs, 2010 — Myths vs. Reality National Institute of Justice February 2011 Delays in submitting evidence to a forensic laboratory as well as delays in analyzing the evidence result in delays in justice.

In worst-case situations, delays can result in additional victimization by serial offenders or in the incarceration of individuals who have not committed the crime they are accused of or charged with. This report details the nature of the problem and possible solutions. > For more information: http://www.

ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/232197. pdf Daring to Fail: First-person Stories of Criminal Justice Reform Center for Court Innovation The Center for Court Innovation and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance have launched a multi-faceted initiative designed to promote innovation at the grassroots level by encouraging criminal justice agencies to engage in a process of trial and error.

A large part of this effort has been devoted to studying criminal justice reform efforts – both successes and failures – in an effort to identify lessons for the innovators of tomorrow. By fostering a more open and honest public discussion of failures in particular, the project seeks to encourage self-reflection, transparency and thoughtful risk-taking among criminal justice agencies.

One of the hallmarks of the Trial and Error initiative has been first-person interviews with leading criminal justice scholars, practitioners and policymakers. Over the past three years, staff from the Center for Court Innovation have conducted nearly 100 such interviews with leaders in a variety of fields – prosecution, policing, community corrections, indigent defense and others.

This report includes a representative sample of these interviews. > For more information: http://www. courtinnovation.

org/_uploads/documents/Daring_2_Fail.

pdf # Conferences and Trainings Owning Up Curriculum: A Training with Rosalind Wiseman March 1, 2011, Peabody, Massachusetts The Owning Up Curriculum, written and developed by Rosalind Wiseman, author of The New York Times bestseller Queen Bees and Wannabees, provides a structured program for teaching students to own up and take responsibility—as perpetrators, bystanders, and targets—for unethical behavior.

The curriculum is designed for adolescent groups in schools and other settings. District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett is hosting A Training with Rosalind Wiseman on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 from 8:30AM to 12:00PM. Pre-registration is required; space is limited.

Information is available at www. mass. gov/essexda or by calling Ruth Budelmann, Mariellen Fidrych or Meghan Meagher at (978) 745-6610 x 5086, 5085, or 5055.

> For more information: http://www. mass. gov/Deas/docs/conferences_events/2010_owning_up.

pdf The Right to Counsel: Standards & Solutions in a Downturned Economy Bureau of Justice Assistance March 8, 2011, Webinar The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center invites you to participate in a webinar on the right to counsel.

While state policymakers work to construct indigent defense systems that meet basic foundational national standards, prudent use of taxpayer dollars requires that they concurrently decrease the need for public defense attorneys by removing non-violent, low-level felonies and misdemeanors from the formal justice system through diversion, mediation and/or reclassification of crimes to infractions where it is safe, reasonable and prudent to do so.

This webinar will explore the state of the right to counsel in America, offer insight into current national standards, and present practical solutions to public defense problems that threaten our courts’ abilities to produce verdicts that are fair, correct, swift and final. > For more information: https://cc. readytalk.

com/cc/schedule/display. do?

udc=4ozeg2azyaax 2011 Shaping the Future, Honoring the Past: Seeking Healing Through Justice Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance April 12, 2011, Boston, Massachusetts The Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance believes that it is increasingly important to come together in unity to recognize the work being done across the Commonwealth to advance rights and services for victims and survivors and bring needed attention to the importance of victims’ rights and services in the Commonwealth.

Please join the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance on April 12th at the State House to celebrate Victim Rights Month and come together for a day of reflection and inspiration. > For more information: http://www. surveymonkey.

com/s/2011VictimRightsEventRegistration The Eleventh Crime Mapping Research Conference: Crime, Social Ills, and Place-based Solutions National Institute of Justice April 13 – 15, 2011, Miami, Florida Place-based initiatives are becoming a prominent approach to solving problems of crime and the delivery of criminal justice services at all levels of government.

The focus on place seeks to simultaneously address the interconnected relationship between people and their environments to which multiple social ills are connected. These relationships and connections form real problems in specific places. The Crime Mapping Research Conference represents a range of research findings, practical applications, technology demonstrations, and policy results.

The conference is about understanding crime, criminal justice, and public safety and their effect on, and by, places. > For more information: http://www. ojp.

usdoj. gov/nij/events/maps/welcome.

htm National Institute of Justice May 1 – 4, 2011, Moundsville, West Virginia The Mock Prison Riot is a four-day, comprehensive law enforcement and corrections tactical and technology experience, including 40,000 square feet of exhibit space, training scenarios, technology demonstrations, technology assessments and evaluations, certification workshops, a skills competition, and unlimited opportunities for feedback, networking, and camaraderie on a global scale.

> For more information: http://mockprisonriot. org/mpr/index. aspx Innovative Technologies for Corrections Conference Justice Technology Information Network June 12 – 14, 2011, Indianapolis, Indiana This conference explores practical applications of innovative technologies currently in use as well as technologies not yet available, but on the horizon.

There are numerous educational workshops in two major tracks: Community Corrections and Institutional Corrections, which will provide attendees with current information on how technology is and can be used to enhance mission performance. Expected attendees are 200 to 300 professionals from all areas of community and institutional corrections including probation, parole, pretrial, alternative sentencing programs and treatment providers.

Attendees are typically administrators, supervisors and line staff from federal, state and local agencies with responsibility for and/or strong interest in learning about technology’s role in community corrections. > For more information: http://www. justnet.

org/Pages/ITCC_2011.

aspx NIJ Conference: Translational Criminology - Shaping Policy and Practice With Research National Institute of Justice June 20 – 22, 2011, Arlington, Virginia For more than a decade, the National Institute of Justice's annual conference has brought together criminal justice scholars, policymakers, and practitioners at the local, state, and federal levels to share the most recent findings from research and technology.

The conference showcases what works, what doesn't work and what the research shows as promising. It puts a heavy emphasis on the benefits to researchers and practitioners who work together to create effective evidence-based policies and practices. > For more information: http://www.

ojp. usdoj. gov/nij/events/nij_conference/welcome.

htm 2011 Trace Evidence Symposium: Science, Significance and Impact National Institute of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Laboratory Division August 8 – 11, 2011, Kansas City, Missouri The nature of trace, or "transfer," evidence is highly variable, and trace evidence can be found at nearly every crime or accident scene.

Trace evidence is considered one of the most diverse of the forensic disciplines because it can include the analysis of hair, fiber, paint, glass, dirt/dust, botanical material, arson/fire debris, explosives, and impression evidence.

While trace evidence is rarely the only evidence available in an investigation, identifying the origin of foreign material found at a crime scene and linking such material with material from different locations can be a powerful evidentiary finding.

Recognizing the important impact that trace evidence has on criminal investigations and, ultimately, on the justice system, the National Institute of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Laboratory Division are co-sponsoring a Trace Evidence Symposium. > For more information: http://www. ojp.

usdoj.

gov/nij/events/trace-evidence-symposium/ Sixth National Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Training Conference Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention May 25 – 27, 2011, Austin, Texas The primary focus of the 2011 SART Training Conference will once again be to continue expanding the capacity of SARTs to promote health and healing of sexual assault victims, hold sex offenders accountable for their crimes, and realize the hope of preventing further sexual violence in their communities.

Core membership for SARTs typically includes advocates, law enforcement officers, forensic medical examiners – including sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs), forensic laboratory personnel, and prosecutors.

Additional team members can include dispatchers, emergency medical technicians, correctional staff, culturally specific organization representatives, sex offender February 2011 10 management professionals, policy makers, federal grant administrators, faith-based providers, and civil attorneys. > For more information: http://www. sartconference.

com/Conference. php The following are excerpts from newspaper articles regarding public safety topics. 10 high-level sex offenders sought by State Police The Boston Globe , February 2, 2011 State Police are seeking 10 dangerous sex offenders wanted for new crimes.

Some of the Level 3 offenders, classified as those at the highest risk of re-offending, are wanted for crimes including rape of a child with force and failure to register as a sex offender, State Police said in a statement. The suspects are all men ranging in age from 33 to 54, authorities said. "These predators are among the worst of the worst,” said Colonel Marian J.

McGovern, superintendent of the State Police. “Many of them have preyed on children, many are multiple offenders, and all are trying to elude the law that requires that they register so we can keep track of them. Finding these men is a priority of the Massachusetts State Police.

” > For more information: http://www. boston. com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/02/10_high-level_s.

html The Boston Globe , February 6, 2011 The number of probationers working at different pantries varies, but their responsibilities are similar, reports The Boston Globe . Food directors say unloading truckloads of donated food from the Greater Boston Food Bank is one of the main tasks. “Working at food pantries is beneficial to the court, the pantry, and the community service worker.

It gives an indigent individual the opportunity to comply with their court order and to give back to the community at the same time,” said Lisa Hickey, assistant statewide supervisor of the Trial Court Community Service Program. “Many of these pantries do not have the staff to keep up with the current demand. Community service crews help meet this demand by unloading and sorting food as well as cleaning the facility.

This gives offenders a sense of accomplishment and boosts their self-esteem. ” > For more information: http://www. boston.

com/news/local/articles/2011/02/06/lynn_food_pantry_depends_on_probationers/ Hearings to be held on bullying law in Mass. The Boston Herald , February 8, 2011 The state’s nine-month-old anti-bullying law is getting its first review. Attorney General Martha Coakley will hold a public hearing at the Statehouse on Wednesday to determine how well the law is working and whether additional steps should be taken to stop bullying in schools.

> For more information: http://www. bostonherald. com/news/politics/view.

bg? articleid=1315369 White House says no to emergency AK-47 regulation The Boston Globe , February 9, 2011 The White House says tracking the bulk sale of high-powered rifles from border state gun shops which legally sell thousands of assault weapons that end up in Mexico each year is not an emergency, and has rejected a request from the U.S. agency that monitors weapons sales to do so without public review.

Instead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ proposed requirement that firearms dealers near the Mexican border to report multiple purchases of high-powered rifles will undergo a standard, three-month review period, opening it to public comment. > For more information: http://www. boston.

com/news/nation/articles/2011/02/09/white_house_says_no_to_emergency_ak_47_regulation/? page=1 Rep. Keating slams security in wake of stowaway death The Boston Globe, February 9, 2011 At a hearing today on terrorist threats, freshman U.S. Rep.

William R. Keating blasted airport security using the harrowing case of a teen who apparently plummeted to his death onto a Milton lawn after stowing away in the wheel well of a jet, reports The Boston Globe. Keating, who investigated the case in his former post as Norfolk District Attorney, said airport tarmacs nationwide remain inadequate.

> For more information: http://www. bostonherald. com/news/regional/view/2011_0209rep_keating_slams_security_in_wake_of_stowaway_death/ Cambridge records 0 murders in 2010 Cambridge Chronicle, February 9, 2011 The Cambridge Police Department reported that for only the fourth time in the last 50 years, there were no murders in Cambridge in 2010.

Prior years without a homicide being committed in Cambridge were 1985, 2004, and 2007. For the 30-year period between 1960 and 1989, the City of Cambridge averaged slightly less than five murders per year. Since 1990, the average annual murder rate for Cambridge has fallen to approximately two per year.

Nationally, cities with comparable populations of 100,000 residents average a much higher rate of 10 murders each year. > For more information: http://www. wickedlocal.

com/cambridge/news/x1111632216/Cambridge-records-0-murders-in-2010 State rejects compensation for wrongly convicted man The Houston Chronicle , February 14, 2011 The Texas Comptroller’s Office has denied compensation to Anthony Graves, who spent 18 years on death row before a special prosecutor determined he was innocent and authorities dropped capital murder charges against him.

The state determined that Graves, 45, who could have received as much as $1. 4 million had he been deemed eligible, should receive nothing because the words "actual innocence" didn’t appear in the document ordering his release, according to a letter the office sent to Graves’ attorney, Nicole Casarez. > For more information: http://www.

chron. com/disp/story. mpl/metropolitan/7426785.

html State’s bills soar for legal aid to poor The Boston Globe, February 14, 2011 The state last year paid private lawyers $155. 6 million to represent poor clients, almost 25 percent more than anticipated under a 2005 state law that was passed to make their pay more equitable with other states, according to a Globe analysis of the spending.

At the same time, the state has failed to take several other actions recommended in 2005 that would have limited the state’s dependence on private lawyers — and the fees they received — and better defined who qualifies as an indigent defendant, reports The Boston Globe . > For more information: http://www. boston.

com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/02/14/states_bills_soar_for_legal__aid_to_poor/ Gang violence trend eyed on buses The Boston Herald , February 15, 2011 There have been three murders throughout the MBTA in the past four years — all on buses traveling Boston’s inner city streets, reports The Boston Herald .

Deputy Transit Police Chief Joseph O’Connor said T buses are fairly safe, but when there are as many as 15,000 passengers on some of the busiest routes daily, those with grudges are bound to cross paths with their enemies aboard buses. “We don’t believe we have a specific gang issue on the MBTA. But we do recognize that from time to time, some affiliated