Demand to Fill Security-related Jobs Grows as Economy Sputters
from the South Florida Business Journal via the San Francisco Business Times
Even though the nation’s unemployment rate is at a 14-year high, some South Florida companies are still looking to fill positions. Police departments, security and technology companies are trying to fill positions and some holiday oriented retail jobs are expected to materialize even though sales expectations are low. That contrasts with some other employers who are hunkered down and don't want to spend money on recruiting or training. More

Drug Detectives Adapt to Changing Threats in Marion County, Tenn.
from the Chattanooga Free Press
Meth did at least one good thing for Marion County — it taught law enforcement exactly what was needed to battle drugs, lawmen said. That knowledge is crucial, even though busts over the past 12 years have reduced the number of meth labs in the county to a fraction of what was seen before, say detectives in the Marion County Sheriff’s Department. More

L.A. County Sheriff Vows Crackdown on Armed Deputies Drinking Alcohol
from the Los Angeles Times
Responding to a spate of shootings by allegedly intoxicated off-duty deputies, Sheriff Lee Baca plans to implement a policy banning deputies from carrying firearms when they are drinking. This is one of the nation's toughest policies barring deputies from carrying firearms when they are under the influence of alcohol. More

Police to Stop Moonlighting in Baltimore
from the Baltimore Sun
Concerned that officers are being drawn into an escalating number of violent incidents, Baltimore plans to prohibit police from working off-duty jobs outside bars, clubs and other businesses with liquor licenses, a move that has frustrated the officers' union, business owners and some city officials. More

Texas Facility Turns Away Offenders Due to Staffing Shortage
from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times
A shortage of jailers at the San Patricio County, Texas, Jail is resulting in shorter stays for non-violent offenders. The 236-bed facility is having trouble meeting the state standard of one jailer for every 48 prisoners and must either move prisoners to other counties or turn prisoners away following a directive Thursday from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Sheriff Leroy Moody told San Patricio County commissioners during a meeting Monday that he had dropped the jail numbers to 186, though the facility routinely has 230 prisoners. More

Slain Corrections Officer not Wearing Body Alarm
from The Associated Press via the Examiner
A Florida corrections officer killed while supervising inmates in a work program was not wearing a body alarm or carrying a radio at the time, and the inmate charged in her killing may not have been eligible to be in the program, an investigation found. Donna Fitzgerald, 50, was killed at the Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach in June, the first corrections officer killed in the state in five years. More

Woman's Compassion for Inmates Earns CNN's Attention
from the Virginian Pilot
Carolyn LeCroy started a program nine years ago to help Virginia inmates record messages to their children. Some 3,000 messages later, LeCroy has been chosen as one of 10 national finalists for this year's CNN Hero of the Year award, to be announced Thanksgiving night. She will receive $25,000 and will be given another $100,000 if voted the overall winner. More

New York Parolees Losing Addiction Programs
from the Times Union
In an attempt to save money, the state Division of Parole will not pay for substance abuse programs for parolees with addiction problems. Starting Dec. 1, parolees will have to find other ways to pay for mandated treatment programs — either through Medicaid, private insurance or self-pay. According to John Coppola, executive director of the New York Association of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Providers, A year in prison costs $40,000, while outpatient addiction treatment is less than $10,000. Meanwhile, 40 percent of inmates released from state prison return to prison, but the recidivism rate falls to 27 percent if they get addiction counseling after their release, he said. More

Kansas County Unveils Crime Mapping Web Tool
from KSHB-TV
Johnson County, Kan., residents now have a new online tool to show them when and how many crimes are happening in their neighborhood. The Sheriff's Office has launched a new online crime mapping tool. The easy to use, intuitive tool is the first of its kind for the Sheriff’s Office. This project, which took five months to develop, will provide information ranging from overall activity, to specific crimes or specific address in an easy to use Web application. More

Immigration Deporting More Criminals in 2008
from the Standard-Examiner
Immigration and Customs Enforcement increased the number of local criminal immigrants deported during 2008, while the number of noncriminal immigrants deported decreased. Nationally, the total number of immigrants deported by ICE was 345,710, an increase of 20 percent between 2007 and 2008. Of that total, 107,269 immigrants had criminal convictions, a 6 percent increase since last year. Deportations nationally increased 68 percent between 2005 and 2008. More