Safe Silver Spring Meeting on "Minorities and Criminal Justice System" - 9/17

Safe Silver Spring                            9/12/13

This post contains information on 1) Our next meeting – 9/17; 2) Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence Celebration of Gun Safety Legislation which takes effect 10/1. 3) Long Branch Community Center Family Events, Fall 2013. 

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I.                   Our next meeting is September 17, 2013, 7:00 p.m. at the Long Branch Community Center, Community Lounge, 2nd floor, 8700 Piney Branch Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20912.  The focus of the meeting will be on “Minorities and the Criminal Justice System.”  The Speakers include:

·         Rashad Price, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Youth Violence Prevention Program

·         Saschane Stephenson, President, African-American Democratic Club, Montgomery County.

This meeting is cosponsored by Prezco (President’s Council of Silver Spring Civic Associations), SSCAB, Councilmembers Elrich, Leventhal, and Riemer, Delegates Hucker and Mizeur, Greater Silver Spring Democratic Club, Montgomery County Young Dems, Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers, Renter's Alliance, Pyramid Atlantic, and Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence. We welcome additional meeting sponsors.

Below are some key articles on the topic.  As can be seen minorities are over-represented as to school suspensions and arrests and the picture worsens the deeper we look at the criminal justice system.  One of the alternatives that our speakers will discuss is diversion programs. 

Resources:

http://www.djs.state.md.us/docs/Statewide%20DUS%20-%206-27-13.pdf (DJS Detention Report)*

 http://www.djs.state.md.us/drg/DRG_2012_Whole_book_with_Pullouts_updated_recidivism_data.pdf (DJS data report guide)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-washington-area-african-american-students-suspended-and-expelled-two-to-five-times-as-often-as-whites/2011/12/23/gIQA8WNQNP_story.html 

 http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/school-prison-pipeline (School to prison pipeline) *

            see https://www.aclu.org/files/images/asset_upload_file966_35553.pdf *

http://www.publicwelfare.org/newsroom/overview/13-07-10/Locking_Up_Too_Many_Americans_For_Too_Long.aspx

http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/child-watch-columns/child-watch-documents/stress-trauma-loss-rage.html

*Highly recommended

2.

Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence

contact@marylanderstopreventgunviolence.org

You are invited!

On October 1, the life-saving Firearms Safety Act of 2013, which we all worked so hard to enact, will take effect. Let's Celebrate!

Join us at 7pm that evening at:

Soundstage
124 Market Place
Baltimore, MD 

We are asking for a minimum contribution of $50 to cover our expenses and help us work to fully implement Maryland's landmark gun violence prevention law.  You can make your contribution ONLINE or by sending a check to Marylanders To Prevent Gun Violence, Inc., 2600 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD  21218.

We look forward to seeing you there!

[Contributions to Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence are for issue advocacy and are not tax-deductible.]

3. Long Branch Community Center hosts a number of family events this fall.  See

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/rec/new_images/Family_Night_Out-fall2013.pdf