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Subject: Abused Kids More Likely to Turn to Crime
Date: 5/6/03 1:07 AM MST
Author: JamesA@aol.com
Abused Kids More Likely to Turn to Crime
By JONATHAN D. SALANT .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -
Children who are abused or neglected are far more likely to become criminals as adults, according to a study released Monday by an organization of police chiefs, prosecutors and crime victims.
The report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids recommends more money for pre-kindergarten programs and parenting classes, saying the cost will be offset later when children who might have been burdens on society grow up to be upstanding citizens. ``Children who survive abuse and neglect can be significantly injured,'' said one of the report's authors, Dr. Randell Alexander, director of the Center for Child Abuse at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. ``Many go on to hurt others. If you are born into a world of violence, you wire yourself for violence, not for peace.''
Using various federal data and academic and advocacy group studies, researchers said child abuse and neglect is vastly underreported. The 900,000 cases reported annually by the Health and Human Services Department may be only one-third of the actual total, the report said.
The report cited a study published in 2000 by Dr. Cathy Spatz Widom, a professor of criminal justice and psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, that found individuals who had been abused or neglected as youngsters were 29 percent more likely to become violent criminals than other children. Using that estimate, researchers said 36,000 of the 900,000 children cited in the HHS report will become violent criminals when they reach adulthood, including 250 who will become murderers. The report's authors include four local prosecutors and two sheriffs.
They said the findings illustrate the need for more federal funds for pre-kindergarten programs and parenting classes for families considered high-risk for child abuse, primarily those on welfare or headed by high school dropouts. The 1996 welfare overhaul bill earmarked $2.8 billion for the states under a social services block grant, but congressional Republicans cut funding to $1.7 billion in the current budget year.
David Landefeld, the Republican district attorney for Fairfield County, Ohio, said crime connected to child abuse costs Americans $50 billion a year - 50 times the amount of money cut from the social services block grant. HHS officials said it was up to Congress to decide whether to provide the money.
In Elmira, N.Y., a parenting program for single, poor mothers reduced incidents of child abuse or neglect to one-fifth of what they had been. In Chicago, a combination of parenting classes and pre-kindergarten cut cases of abuse and neglect in half, according to the report. ``It is possible to prevent child abuse and neglect instead of waiting for the next horror story to occur,'' said Brooklyn, N.Y., District Attorney Charles Hynes. Brendina Tobias of Newport News, Va., is a social worker whose son was killed in New York in 1993 while walking to a restaurant to get food for his elderly grandmother. The murderers had been neglected as children and learned to take whatever they wanted to survive, Tobias said. ``Abuse and neglect can be prevented,'' Tobias said. ``Maybe my son would still be alive.''
On the Net: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids: http://www.fightcrime.org
Widom study: http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/jr000242b.pdf Abused Kids More Likely to Turn to Crime |
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Subject: Level 3 Search for Holly Jones Now Amber Alert-Toronto, Ontario Level 3 Search for Holly Jones Now Amber Alert http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/release.php?id=3836Corporate Communications 416-808-7100 The Toronto Police Service is asking the assistance of the public in locating ten year old Holly JONES. Holly was last seen in the area of Perth Avenue and Bloor Street West, in the Dundas and Bloor area of the City. Holly was last seen at 6:30 pm on Monday the 12th. of May 2003. Holly is described as - female white, approximately 5 feet tall and 92 pounds. She has long brown hair, brown eyes. She was wearing a green/blue bomber style rain jacket, purple sweater, brown pants and brown leather boots. A photograph of Holly IS AVAILABLE ON THE TPS WEBSITE and at the duty desk. A Command Post has been set up in the Loblaws parking lot located at the East Side of Dundas St W just south of Bloor St W in 11 Division. Members of the media are encouraged to attend at the Command Post for briefings and updates. An intensive investigation and grid search of the area has found no trace of the missing girl. At this point in the investigation there is no reasonable explanation to account for her disappearance. The circumstances of her disappearance are suspicious in nature. As a result, Acting Chief of Police Stephen Reesor has declared this investigation as an AMBER ALERT. All media are urged to broadcast a complete description of Holly Jones until further notice. The Provincial Amber Alert System is being activated. If anyone has information regarding Holly they are asked to contact number 11 Division at (416)-808-1100 or Crimestoppers at 416-222-TIPS. This release will expire on: 2003-05-20
May 13, 2003
Its the news no one wanted to hear but everyone feared the most.
Police have confirmed the remains of a young child found at Wards Island
Tuesday morning are that of 10-year-old Holly Jones. The search for
Holly Jones is a search for her killer, intones a sad Staff Inspector Gary
Ellis. We have now identified this person as Holly, and we are throwing everything we can in finding the person or persons responsible for
her death.
Jones was last seen around 6:30pm Monday, after escorting a girlfriend
home. She never returned to her Bloor and Perth Avenue residence, and
by 9pm, her mother became alarmed, and called police. They made a
desperate and tearful plea for their daughters safe return, but it was too
late.
Police are now hoping the public will come into play, since the child was taken in broad daylight. Theyve also put out an alert for several pieces of luggage and gym bags, which apparently were used to store the body parts.
Anyone with information is being asked to call a special hotline at
(416) 808-8390.
Investigators never know what will be the key piece of evidence in a murder investigation. In the hunt for the killer of 10-year-old Holly Jones, it may well come down to a few pieces of luggage and some gym bags. Those ordinary containers were used for some very extraordinary and terrible purposes sometime between Monday and Tuesday. And now police are desperate to find their owners. The containers were used to transport the dismembered remains of the youngster, and were found washed ashore off Wards Island and near the Argonaut Rowing Club. Detectives know its their best clue, and want the public to try and recall if they saw anyone carrying them in the last 24 hours.
One of the bags is a black Lynx gym bag with white lettering, a picture of a Lynx on it that says Lynx, Staff Inspector Gary Ellis reveals.
The other is a Cherokee black carry-on luggage suitcase with a pull-out handle and roll-on wheels and it's got a grey decal on it that says Cherokee.
If anyone saw anyone carrying anything like this we'd be interested in talking to them. To report what you know, call the 24-hour hotline at (416) 808-8390. |
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EDITORIAL
Pedophile
"noun- A pedophile is someone who, over a period of at least 6 months, has recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years of younger). The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children.
The one fault with that definition is that in the mind of the pedophile, there is seldom any admission of any significant distress or social impairment. In nearly all instances, the pedophile does not regard his behavior or sexual attraction to children as harmful to anyone including the child.
It is also important to understand that merely being a pedophile is not a crime. " http://www.pedowatch.com
NOW MY QUESTION TO ALL PARENTS OUT THERE IS - WHY NOT?
Overwhelming research has shown Pedophiles cannot be cured of their aberration. Many lists of such persons compiled by State Governments throughout the US are notoriously inaccurate.
It's time to stop being paranoid. Either our governments handle the problem, or we do.
Let us know how you feel about this issue? Email us at sfiu@lycos.com with your opinion. Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 09:19:32 -0400 From:
Subject: DCFS reveals more complete count of missing children -IL
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-dcfs15.html
DCFS reveals more complete count of missing children
May 15, 2003
BY CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporter
Following up on Gov. Blagojevich's mandate to make finding kids missing from the state's child welfare system a priority, DCFS officials are releasing new guidelines for counting such youth and creating a task force and new policies to help find them.
Rather than release figures only for missing children age 17 and under, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services now is including those 18 and older in the tally it discloses publicly.
The agency also is separating missing Cook County wards from those Downstate.
MISSING YOUTH
In February, DCFS reported that 214 of its youth were missing. A new procedure for counting them leaves the number at 413. Here's the breakdown:
Cook County 17 and under 18 and older Total
Youth believed abducted: 12 1 13
Missing, but contact kept with caseworkers: 13 14 27
Whereabouts unknown: 200 104 304
REST OF ILLINOIS
Youth believed abducted: 4 0 4
Missing, but contact kept with caseworkers: 3 1 4
Whereabouts unknown: 54 7 61
TOTAL 286 127 413
As of Friday--the most recent day for which figures were available--DCFS reported 413 kids missing from their assigned living arrangements, including 17 believed abducted. That's about double the total that was disclosed when the Chicago Sun-Times inquired about missing DCFS youth in February.
Bryan Samuels, the agency's new director, has alleged that officials with the previous administration recoded computer files "so that there would be an appearance that there would be fewer missing kids."
Sources close to previous director Jess McDonald vehemently have denied that, saying the numbers released complied with federal reporting guidelines.
Regardless, the agency is upgrading its approach to missing youth, said Judith Dunning, the agency's point woman on the subject since January 2000.
Besides convening a task force that includes Chicago police and experts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, DCFS is making sure missing persons reports on youth are filed as quickly as possible. The goal is to find each youth within 60 days.
"This time, we're actually preparing files that are going to go out to the caseworker and be given to the assigned police officer," Dunning said, adding that caseworkers will more quickly call in federal authorities if necessary. "That case jacket is going to have everything from where this kid lived previously to where he or she lived five years ago. We think that's important to help law enforcement have all the information it needs."
While some kids are found and others go missing each day, Dunning said she expects DCFS to have the total number of missing youth "down to a very low number very quickly."
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