Office of Justice Programs Weekly News Brief

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Inaugural Meeting of OJP Science Advisory Board Held Today—Attorney General Eric Holder joined Laurie O. Robinson, OJP's Assistant Attorney General, in welcoming the 18 members of the newly created OJP Science Advisory Board.  The Board, which was created in November 2010, is charged with providing OJP with guidance and recommendations for research, statistics and grant programs to ensure that programs and activities are scientifically sound and pertinent to policymakers and practitioners.  Today's meeting provided the Board's members with information about OJP's mission and goals and how their participation will enhance the overall impact and performance of OJP's activities in criminal and juvenile justice. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2011/OJP1161.htm

Attorney General Eric Holder, Other DOJ Officials Meet with "Defending Childhood" Initiative Grantees—This week, Attorney General Eric Holder, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson and other department officials met with representatives of the eight Defending Childhood Initiative demonstration sites and heard updates from these grantees about ongoing efforts in their communities.  Attorney General Holder launched Defending Childhood to focus on addressing children's exposure to violence. A key component of the initiative is a multi-year demonstration program.  This included Justice Department funding for eight demonstration sites to develop and implement multi-disciplinary plans that specifically address prevention, intervention, treatment and response strategies to address children's exposure to violence.  The eight sites are:  City of Boston, Mass.; City of Portland, Maine; Chippewa Cree Tribe, Mont.; City of Grand Forks , N.D.; Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners, Ohio; Multnomah County Department of Human Services, Ore.; Rosebud Sioux Tribe, S.D.; and Shelby County, Tenn. www.justice.gov/ag/defendingchildhood/

BJS Issues Report about Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails during 2007 and 2008— Federal, state and local correctional authorities reported an estimated 7,374 allegations of sexual victimization involving incarcerated men and women in 2007 and 7,444 in 2008, according to a report released this week by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).  Among the report's findings: about 54% of the substantiated incidents involved only inmates and 46% of substantiated incidents involved staff with inmates.   The report also showed that female inmates were disproportionately victimized by both other inmates and staff in federal and state prisons, as well as local jails.  The report, Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional Authorities, 2007-2008 (NCJ 230071), is part of the data collections required under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-79). http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov

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SOURCE Office of Justice Programs

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