The following post appears courtesy of Jeff Slowikowski, Acting Administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, chaired by Attorney General Eric Holder, held its quarterly meeting this week in Washington, DC. As an independent body within the executive branch of the federal government, the Council works to improve the coordination of federally funded youth programs.

During the meeting the council unanimously approved a 2010 workplan and identified priority issues for interagency collaboration. The four issues the Council plans to focus on are:

• Education and At-Risk Youth
• Tribal Youth and Juvenile Justice
• Juvenile Reentry
• Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System and Related Systems.

This year, “issue teams” will conduct in-depth assessments for each priority issue and produce a set of recommendations that will be incorporated into the Council’s next Annual Report to Congress. A representative from the Department of Justice and a representative from one of the Council’s member agencies will co-chair each team.

At monthly meetings, the teams will analyze policies, legislation, budgets, regulations, and practices to identify those that foster and those that hinder effective collaboration between federal, state, and local partners. They will develop recommendations for enhancing the federal practice of coordinated assistance. Each team aims to find ways to improve access to and use of resources by state and local stakeholders that will improve the well-being of children and families.

The list of council priorities is just the beginning. In the coming years, as the Council moves ahead in its work, there will be the opportunity to add other areas of concentration. This is not the end of the line; it is just the beginning.

Attorney General Holder emphasized that the Department of Justice will place a high priority on the Council’s activities going forward. Working together, we hope to make a significant difference in the lives of at-risk youth and their families who so urgently need our help.

The following post by Norm Eisen, special advisor to President Obama for ethics and government reform, originally appeared on the White House blog.

Now that the Administration has served for more than a year, we are starting to see real progress on the openness and transparency front.  For the most part, we have gotten high marks in this area, but we take exception to the views expressed in a Washington Post story today.

The Post acknowledges that, in his first full day in office, the President directed federal agencies to become more open, including by applying a presumption of openness to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act.  The Post questions whether these policies are having a real impact. 

The numbers demonstrate that they are.  Contrary to the Post’s assertions, the amount of litigation is already declining.  The Department of Justice found that 22 fewer FOIA cases were filed in 2009 than 2008.  And agencies are making more voluntary releases of information.  The Department of Justice granted 13 percent more FOIA requests in part in 2009 than it did in the last year of the previous Administration, and granted 5 percent more in full than it did in the previous year.  Those are meaningful increases that illustrate the impact of the Administration’s FOIA policy. 

The government isn’t just being more open when people ask for information.  At the White House and across the agencies, we are using innovative platforms to engage citizens in shaping government policy.  And in some instances we are taking actions to make government more open and transparent that prevent Americans from needing to file FOIA requests at all.  The President issued an executive order to make it easier for the public to access historic records that are currently classified but no longer need to be kept secret to protect national security.  Data.gov now hosts over 1,000 sets of government information available for download, and agencies’ websites are being constantly updated to include more content.  And for the first time in history, the White House is voluntarily publishing visitor records online – enabling the American people to see who is visiting the people’s house.  Click here for a list of our open government accomplishments so far.

We did this in the first year of the Administration, even though some said it would be impossible to change entrenched governmental practices on an issue like FOIA.  We recognize that this is just a start, and that there is much more work to be done.  Change takes time and persistence, and we expect government to become even more open in the years to come.  But we know we have established a firm foundation and we are moving in the right direction.

The Obama administration is committed to using every instrument of national power to fight terrorism – including intelligence and military operations as well as the criminal justice system.  As a counter-terrorism tool, the criminal justice system has proven incredibly effective in both incapacitating terrorists and gathering valuable intelligence from and about terrorists.  In every instance, the administration will use the tool that is most effective for fighting terrorism, and will make those decisions based on pragmatism, not ideology. 

 I.  Intelligence Collection

 The criminal justice system has been the source of extremely valuable intelligence on al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.  The criminal justice system provides powerful incentives for suspects to provide accurate, reliable information, and the Department of Justice and FBI work closely with the rest of the intelligence community to maximize information and intelligence obtained from each cooperator.  Below are just a few public examples.

 Cooperators Provide Intelligence on al-Qaeda and Other Terror Groups

•  L’Houssaine Kherchtou, who was arrested, Mirandized, charged with terrorism offenses, and cooperated with the government, provided critical intelligence on al-Qaeda.  He testified in 2001 against four al-Qaeda members who were later sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in connection with the East Africa Embassy bombings.
•  After his capture in Afghanistan, John Walker Lindh pleaded guilty in 2002 to supporting the Taliban and, as part of his plea agreement, provided valuable intelligence about training camps and fighting in Afghanistan.
•  Mohammed Junaid Babar, arrested in 2004 for supporting al Qaeda and plotting attacks in the United Kingdom, has provided intelligence on terrorist groups operating along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border and has testified in the successful trials of terrorists in the United Kingdom and Canada.  He is scheduled to testify in another terrorism trial in New York later this year.
•  David Headley, arrested in 2009 and charged in connection with a plot to bomb a Danish newspaper and his alleged role in the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, has provided extremely valuable intelligence regarding those attacks, the terrorist organization Lashkar y Tayyiba, and Pakistan-based terrorist leaders.
•  Adis Medunjanin, an alleged associate of Najibullah Zazi, was taken into custody in January 2010, and, after waiving his Miranda rights, provided detailed information to the FBI about terrorist-related activities of himself and others in the United States and Pakistan.  He has been charged with conspiring to kill U.S. nationals overseas and receiving military-type training from al-Qaeda.
• Other law enforcement cooperators are currently providing important intelligence regarding terrorist activity from East Africa to South Asia and regarding plots to attack the United States and Europe.

 II  Incapacitating Terrorists

 Hundreds of terrorism suspects have been successfully prosecuted in federal court since 9/11.  Today, there are more than 300 international or domestic terrorists incarcerated in U.S. federal prison facilities.  Events over the past year demonstrate the continuing value of federal courts in combating terrorism.  In 2009, there were more defendants charged with terrorism violations in federal court than in any year since 9/11. 

 Past Terrorism Convictions and Recent Terrorism Indictments

•  Richard Reid was arrested in December 2001 and convicted pursuant to a guilty plea in October 2002 of attempting to ignite a shoe bomb while on a flight from Paris to Miami carrying 184 passengers and 14 crewmembers.  He is serving a life prison term.
•  Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was convicted in November 2005 of conspiracy to assassinate the U.S. President and conspiracy to commit air piracy and conspiracy to destroy aircraft. Ali was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
•  In May 2006, Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to various terrorism violations, admitting that he conspired with al-Qaeda to hijack and crash planes into prominent U.S. buildings as part of the 9/11 attacks.
•  In September 2009, Najibullah Zazi was charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction as part of an al-Qaeda plot bomb targets in the United States. Several of his alleged associates have been arrested and charged in federal court.
•  During 2009, 14 individuals were charged in the District of Minnesota connection with an ongoing investigation of individuals who have traveled from Minnesota to Somalia to train with or fight on behalf of the terrorist group al-Shabaab.
•  In September 2009, Daniel Patrick Boyd and others were charged with plotting an attack on U.S. military personnel at the Quantico Marine Base, as well as recruiting young people to travel overseas in order to kill.

The following statement was released by Matthew Miller, Director, Office of Public Affairs regarding the interrogation and prosecution of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab:

Since September 11, 2001, every terrorism suspect apprehended in the United States by either the Bush administration or the Obama administration has been initially arrested, held or charged under federal criminal law. Al Qaeda terrorists such as Richard Reid, Zacarias Moussaoui and others have all been prosecuted in federal court, and the arrest and charging of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was handled no differently. Those who now argue that a different action should have been taken in this case were notably silent when dozens of terrorists were successfully prosecuted in federal court by the previous administration.

In the hours immediately after Abdulmutallab allegedly attempted to detonate an explosive device on board a Northwest Airlines flight, FBI agents who responded to the scene interrogated him and obtained intelligence that has already proved useful in the fight against Al Qaeda. It was only later that day, after the interrogation had already yielded intelligence, that he was read his Miranda rights. After the Department informed the President’s national security team about its planned course of action, Abdulmutallab was charged in criminal court.

Trying Abdulmutallab in federal court does not prevent us from obtaining additional intelligence from him. He has already provided intelligence, and we will continue to work to gather intelligence from him, as the Department has done repeatedly in past cases. Most recently, David Headley, who has been indicted in Chicago for helping plan the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has given us information of enormous intelligence value. Furthermore, neither detaining Abdulmutallab under the laws of war or referring him for prosecution in military commissions would force him to divulge intelligence or necessarily prevent him from obtaining an attorney.

The Department of Justice, working with the intelligence community and the President’s national security team, is committed to using every tool available to defeat terrorists and keep the American people safe. It will always be a top priority in these cases to obtain intelligence that can be used in the fight against Al Qaeda around the world. We will be pragmatic, not ideological, in that fight, and we will let results, not rhetoric, guide our actions.

The following post appears courtesy of The Office of Justice Programs and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

The Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) introduced a new series of podcasts called Perspectives in Law Enforcement. These podcasts provide listeners with the latest information in innovations, practices and perspectives from the field of criminal justice.  Topics range from innovative policing and prisoner reentry, to substance abuse and mental health issues, to relations with tribal nations.  Each podcast offers listeners the opportunity to hear Justice Department officials and leading experts discuss critical issues facing our nation and communities.

In our first edition, James H. Burch, II, Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, is joined by Kristina Rose, Acting Director of the National Institute of Justice, to talk with William Bratton, former Chief of Police of the Los Angeles Police Department and former Police Commissioner of the New York City and Boston Police Departments, about his thoughts regarding the evolution of policing.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

And, stay tuned for the following future podcasts:

• Part 2: An Interview with Chief William Bratton regarding the concept of Predictive Policing.
• An Interview with Tim Murray, Executive Director of the Pretrial Justice Institute about Pretrial Justice and the crucial role reentry programs play in the justice system.
• An Interview with Major Sam Cochran of the Memphis Police Services discussing the importance of Crisis Intervention Teams.

We hope you listen in.  For feedback about this edition, or to request future topics you would like us to explore, please contact us at the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

The following post appears courtesy of the Office of Special Counsel of the Civil Rights Division.

ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) instructors and immigrant advocates now have new workbooks at their disposal courtesy of the Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) education grant program.

Through lessons titled: “Working in the United States” and “Discrimination in the Workplace,” the workbooks educate potential victims of employment discrimination about their rights under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

These ESOL workbooks are available to the public free of charge in instructor and student versions.

The workbooks are the centerpiece of an ESOL curriculum jointly developed by two co-recipients of an OSC grant: The New York City Commission on Human Rights and the New York Immigration Coalition. The curriculum was designed for adult ESOL classes held at public libraries, community colleges, workforce development agencies, and other venues in New York City. ESOL classes are the perfect vehicle to teach recently-arrived immigrants of their employment rights while simultaneously developing their English language skills.

To find out more about the worker protections or about OSC’s public education grant program call OSC’s toll-free Worker Hotline at 1-800-255-7688 or 1-800-237-2515 (TTY), or OSC’s toll-free Employer Hotline at 1-800-255-8155 or 1-800-237-2515 (TDD), or access OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/osc