Save the Date: Detained – Immigration, Policing and Incarceration

January 31, 2012 at 8:33 am (Art for Social Change, NIA Events)

As part of our year-long focus on the impact(s) of policing on our culture and communities, Project NIA is organizing and co-sponsoring a series of events in 2012.

One of these is a week-long exhibition along with accompanying events that will explore the intersections between immigration, policing, and incarceration. This will take place during the week of March 19th.

We are excited to be co-sponsoring these events with our allies at Mess Hall, the Immigrant Youth Justice League and also with the Chicago PIC Teaching Collective. We are also currently reaching out to other partners for these events.

A consideration of the intersections between immigration, policing, and incarceration is particularly timely because as Carmel Melouney argues:

Illegal immigration is a growth industry for federal law enforcement. Immigration offenses were the fastest growing federal arrest offenses between 2005 and 2009, increasing at an average rate of 23 percent a year, according to statistics released by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.

In 2009, 84,749 people were arrested and charged with immigration offenses, up from 38,041 in 2005, the agency announced yesterday.

With 46 percent of all arrests, illegal immigration was the most common offense for an arrest in 2009, followed by drug violations, accounting for 17 percent, and supervision violations, with 13 percent.”

The chart below illustrates the points made above:

Additionally, in Illinois, the city of Crete might become home to a large new detention facility. Now is the time to educate ourselves about the issue of immigrant detention and to mobilize for action to stop it.

The centerpiece of the week of events around the topic of immigration, policing and incarceration is an exhibition featuring the work of Eroyn Franklin and in particular her zine titled Detained.

by Eroyn Franklin

Keep your eyes and ears open in the upcoming weeks for more details about all of the events!

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Volunteers Needed: Historical Moments of Police Violence

January 29, 2012 at 9:14 am (Volunteers)

In the last few months of 2011, the issue of police violence once again burst into the mainstream with the treatment of Occupy Movement protesters. We found ourselves concerned that the conversations about police violence, however, were divorced from historical context.

In response, Project NIA and the Chicago PIC Teaching Collective are developing a series of pamphlets about historical moments of police violence. Volunteers are currently researching and writing these publications and we plan to release them beginning in May 2012.

We hope that this project will help to inform and educate the broader public about the longstanding tradition of oppressive policing toward marginalized populations (including some activists and organizers). The pamphlets are intended to be youth-friendly.

This idea is inspired by the many pamphlets (precursors to today’s zines) that circulated in the U.S. & in the developing world during the 1950s and 60s in particular. W.E.B. DuBois, CLR James and many other luminaries published short 10 to 30 page pamphlets about different political ideas and historical figures that would sell for as little as 15 or 25 cents. Many were also distributed free of charge. These were produced by companies like International Publishers out of New York or associations like the Afro-American Heritage Association here in Chicago. We want to revive this idea for the 21st century.

We recognize that it is important not to confine learning to classrooms and facilitated spaces. These pamphlets will be made available free of charge online and we hope to print a limited number of copies that can be mailed to currently incarcerated youth and adults.

We are seeking volunteers who want to help with specific aspects of this project:

1. Are you willing to edit pamphlets?
2. Do you have graphic design skills? Volunteer to layout and design pamphlets.
3. Do you have talented graphic designer friends? Volunteer to recruit designers to layout pamphlets.
4. Are you a visual artist? How about contributing some of your talents to creating art for pamphlets.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Mariame at projectnia@hotmail.com. Thanks!

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New Report Released: Policing Chicago Public Schools

January 25, 2012 at 11:45 am (Research)

Announcing the Release of “Policing Chicago Public Schools:”

A New Report about School-Based Juvenile Arrests in Chicago 2010

“Our schools have become almost like satellite police stations.” – Steve Drizin[1]

Project NIA (www.project-nia.org) is releasing a new report titled “Policing Chicago Public Schools: A Gateway to the School-to-Prison Pipeline.” The report relies on data from the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to show (for the first time in seven years) the type of offenses and the demographics (gender, age and race) of the juveniles arrested on CPS properties in calendar year 2010.  We were limited in our findings because CPD reports data by police district rather than by individual school.

The report was written by Mariame Kaba and Frank Edwards.

The key data points in the report are that:

  1. Too many young people are still being arrested on CPS properties.  Over 5,500 arrests of young people under 18 years old took place on CPS properties in 2010.  If we include those between 18 and 20 years old, the number increases to over 6,100 arrests.
  2. Black youth are disproportionately targeted by these arrests. While they represent 45% of CPS students, black youth account for 74% percent of juvenile school-based arrests.  This mirrors the general trend of disproportionate minority contact within the juvenile legal system. For example, while they comprise only 34% of youth ages 5 to 17 in the city of Chicago, African American youth accounted for 76% of citywide juvenile arrests (youth 17 and under) in 2010.
  3. Young men are much more likely to be arrested on CPS properties than are their female counterparts [73% vs. 27%].
  4. Male youth under 21 years old are most often arrested on CPS property for simple battery followed by drug abuse violations and disorderly conduct.  Females under 21 are most often arrested for simple battery, disorderly conduct and miscellaneous non-index offenses.  Nearly a third (27%) of school-based arrest offenses on CPS property is simple battery.  This suggests that a significant number of CPS students are probably being arrested for fighting.
  5. Certain police districts are more likely to arrest youth in schools than others. In particular, the highest aggregate[2] numbers of juvenile school-based arrests are in the 4th, 6th, 8th, 22nd, and 5th police districts.  Together these five districts account for 39% of total juvenile school-based arrests on CPS properties.

In discussions about the school-to-prison pipeline, we need concrete examples of how the process works. As such, it is important to understand the role that police and security staff play in our schools.  Yet reports about police involvement in CPS have unfortunately not been readily available to the public.  There is no easily accessible citywide or statewide data that illustrate how many students are arrested in schools each year.  The last report that was written about the role of police in Chicago Public Schools was published in 2005 by the Advancement Project.  That report, “Education on Lockdown,” found that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) referred over 8,000 students to law enforcement in 2003. Forty percent of these referrals were for simple assault or battery with no serious injuries. Most of these cases were dismissed[3].

You can download the report HERE.

[1] Quote by Steve Drizin, director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth at Northwestern University

[2] We wish that we could compare arrest rates per district but we cannot access total numbers of youth in each district in order to do those calculations.  Arrest rates would tell us more about whether certain districts are disproportionately targeting youth for school-based arrests.

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Policing Chicago Public Schools: A New Report – Jan 25th

January 14, 2012 at 12:36 pm (Advocacy, NIA Events, Research)

Youth Art from Suspension Stories

Join us on Wednesday January 25th from 10:30 am to Noon for the release of our new report “Policing Chicago Public Schools: A Gateway to the School-to-Prison Pipeline.”

The report written by Mariame Kaba and Frank Edwards relies on data from the Chicago Police Department to show (for the first time in seven years) the type of offenses and the demographics (gender, age and race) of the juveniles arrested on CPS properties in calendar year 2010.

In our discussions about the school-to-prison pipeline, we need concrete examples of how the process works. As such, it is important to understand the role that police and security staff play in our schools. Yet reports about police involvement in CPS have unfortunately not been readily available to the public. There is no easily accessible citywide or statewide data that illustrate how many students are arrested in schools each year. The last report that was written about the role of police in Chicago Public Schools was published in 2005 by the Advancement Project. That report, “Education on Lockdown,” found that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) referred over 8,000 students to law enforcement in 2003. Forty percent of these referrals were for simple assault or battery with no serious injuries. Most of these cases were dismissed.

Our purpose in writing this report is to ensure that the public is informed about the scope and extent of policing in Chicago Public Schools. We hope that this will galvanize educators, parents, students, policymakers and community members to advocate for a dramatic decrease of CPS’s reliance on law enforcement to address school discipline issues. Instead, we would like to see an increase in the use of restorative justice, which is an effective approach, to respond to student misbehavior in our schools.

In light of a push for budget austerity, limited resources should be re-directed away from policing and into affirming programs and opportunities for students. This, we believe, will improve the overall well-being of all stakeholders in the educational system (most especially students). We also call on our city council to improve data transparency by passing an ordinance requiring CPS and CPD to report quarterly on the numbers of students arrested in the district. Having timely and reliable information will support efforts to hold CPS and CPD accountable.

Finally, we believe that student privacy should be protected rather than further eroded. Current reporting practices between schools and law enforcement do not need to be reformed to increase the exchange of student information between these parties.

When: January 25, 2012
Time: 10:30 am to Noon
Where: Northwestern University Law School, Booth Hall (Room 204), 357 E. Chicago Ave (take stairs to 2nd floor).
RSVP: projectniaevents@hotmail.com

This meeting is co-sponsored by the Children and Family Justice Center.

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Art against Abuse: February 3rd

January 12, 2012 at 10:30 am (Resources)

Art Against Abuse:

Engaging Youth to End the Cycle of Violence

 Date: February 3, 2012

Time: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Location: Jane Addams College of Social Work

1040 West Harrison Street

Chicago, IL 60607

Description: In honor of Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month, this training provides an opportunity for social workers, counselors, and educators interested in developing tools to use various art forms (poetry, puppetry, and visual arts) to engage youth who have experienced violence. The training will include workshops facilitated by leaders from community organizations, such as Between Friends, A Long Walk Home, Puppeteers without Borders, and Project NIA. Free Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professional and Social Work CEUs will be offered, as well as Continuing Professional Development Units for educators. The training will also be an opportunity to network with other community organizations and social service providers!  This training is being organized by Between Friends in partnership with the Jane Addams College of Social Work at UIC.  The training is FREE.

 Workshop titles include:

Therapeutic Puppet Play,
Using Arts as Tools for Social Change and Healing,

Giving Name to the Nameless: Using Poetry as an Anti-Violence Intervention with Girls and Young Women, and

(UN)PUBLISHED: Applications of the Use of Altered Books.

In depth workshop descriptions and facilitator biographies may be viewed here as well as on the registration form!

Space is limited – Registration is required!

Please complete the registration form and submit to: Between Friends c/o Colleen Norton. E-mail: cnorton@betweenfriendschicago.org, Fax: 773-262-2543. You will receive a confirmation email for the workshops for which you have registered prior to the event. Due to limited space, you may be required to choose another workshop.

 For more information, please contact Colleen Norton at (773)274-5232 Ext. 26 or cnorton@betweenfriendschicago.org.

Visit the event on the Between Friend’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BetweenFriendsChicago#!/events/125251380920218/

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Training: Understanding the Illinois Juvenile Justice System – the basics…

January 10, 2012 at 12:40 am (NIA Events)

by Richard Ross

From January to May 2011, Project NIA organized and co-sponsored a 30-hour juvenile justice advocacy training program with the Jane Addams Hull House Museum.  This series of five day-long workshops addressed the different aspects of the juvenile justice system and provided information/resources to participants.  It was a successful program and we have received requests to offer this workshop series again.  Unfortunately due to a lack of capacity, we are unable to revive the entire program.  However, Project NIA has decided to offer a day-long workshop in 2012 titled: “Understanding the Illinois Juvenile Justice System: the Basics.” This introductory workshop will provide basic information about the points of contact for youth with the juvenile justice system as well as information about rights that young people have in the system.

The workshop is appropriate for community members, parents, educators, young people, and organizers who have minimal knowledge about the juvenile justice system.  At the end of the workshop, participants will:

  1. Know the points of contact for youth in the juvenile justice system.
  2. Better understand some of the issues that young people in conflict with the law experience.
  3. Learn about the rights that youth have in the system.
  4. Be able to identify some of the existing resources that can support young people in conflict with the law in Chicago.

The workshops are youth-friendly and will be offered on February 25th, April 28th and June 9th.  They run from 9 to 5:00 p.m. Each workshop stands alone so you only need to register for one session. Workshops are offered at no cost to participants however lunch is on your own.  PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.   Sign up HERE to register for this workshop.

February 25, 2012– Understanding the Illinois Juvenile Justice System: the Basics – 9 to 5 p.m. – Location: Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave, Room 244.  Co-sponsored by the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation.

April 28, 2012 – Understanding the Illinois Juvenile Justice System: the Basics – 9 to 5 p.m. – Location: TBD

June 9, 2012 — Understanding the Illinois Juvenile Justice System: the Basics – 9 to 5 p.m. – Location: Jane Addams Hull House Museum, Dining Hall, 800 S. Halsted Street. Co-sponsored by the Jane Addams Hull House Museum

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