The Redwood Highway

Crime, Law and Related Links

Back

Local Web Links

Jobs and Internships

Forensics

Local Web Links

California Legislative Analyst's Office Profile of Criminal Justice. This page contains the following: A Profile of State Government Programs and Finances in California for a variety of agencies, including criminal justice. The criminal justice profile includes an Overview, Crime and the Criminal Justice System, Juvenile Populations, Adult Populations and the Judiciary. Extensive statistics and interpretations are provided. A terrific resource!
California's Statistical Analysis Center. This unit falls under the Attorney General's Office.
The California State University Data Archive at CSUK-Los Angeles. Available to CSU faculty and students only.
California's Office of Criminal Justice Planning
The Delancy Street Foundation.
Domestic Violence Policy Committee Final Report. This Report was prepared by the Domestic Violence Policy Committee, a committee appointed by the Sonoma County Sheriff and the District Attorney in July 1996. The Committee wrote this report on the problem of domestic violence intervention and the criminal justice system. This report makes findings, comments and recommendations in light of public response to the killing of Maria Teresa Macias by her husband. This link takes you to the Table of Contents. (Revised 6/12/97)
The Irascible Professor. Biting and provocative commentary from a CSU professor. The Feb. 6, 2003 commentary is "Something's Not Computing Here," with respect to the CSU plan to increase enrollments 5% while cutting the budget 10%.
The Klaaskids web site, started by Marc Klaas and the Klaas Foundation for Children, includes information on child-related databases; prevention tips; and other matters.

The Marin County Public Defender's Office.
A Profile of Sonoma County Criminal and Civil Justice Agencies, which contains the initial and ongoing results of a survey of justice agencies in Sonoma County first begun during the Spring, 1996 semester by Pat Jackson and a former undergraduate CJA major, Sheryl Braun. This document is frequently accessed. The information will be updated and will hopefully be expanded as local agencies come on-line. This is exploratory research that has been undertaken to see what fruits it might produce locally.
Sonoma County Crime, Violence and Abuse. Chapter 13 from the Sonoma County Health Profile [accessed 3.27.06].

We read everywhere about the value and "common sense" of three strikes laws. California's former Attorney General has stated repeatedly that three strikes is responsible for the downturn in crime in recent years, although others with actual evidence about its efficacy strongly disagree. This study, by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco, looks at the unintended victims of California's three strikes law. This is worth reading. Even though judges were recently permitted to strike priors the situation for most offenders will not change much. Over three fourths of offenders sentenced under three strikes are committed for nonviolent felonies. Reprinted with permission.
A Primer: Three Strikes: The Impact After More Than a Decade is the latest California study of three strikes. See a summary and discussion of this report at http://www.sonoma.edu/users/j/jackson/archives/2005_12.html. The law is extremely costly and yet ineffective.
"California's New Three-Strikes Law: Benefits, Costs, and Alternatives," a RAND Corporation Research Brief. The source of the complete study is included after the summary. You'll have to pay for the latter. You may wish to check out RAND's holdings while you're there, particularly the recent one on mandatory minimums.
The following press release, issued by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists, deals with why you should be concerned about the California prison ban on inmate-media contacts. This situation has actually deterioriated. At present, the press now only has a right to witness executions. Reprinted with permission.
The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, located in San Francisco. See their The Punishing Decade: Prison and Jail Estimates at the Millennium, in pdf.
The National Council on Crime and Delinquency, headed by Barry Krisberg. Along with CJCJ, one of the West Coast's progressive forces for social change.
The Sonoma County Grand Jury issued its recommendations on a wide variety of topics. Here are the 1995-6 Grand Jury recommendations on juvenile hall and the Grand Jury Recommendations about Rohnert Park's fire protection.
The 1996-7 Sonoma County Grand Jury's findings on "Citizen Complaints Against Law Enforcement Agencies." This is a disturbing report on police reponses to citizen complaints and the Grand Jury's attempt to investigate the matter.
The recommendations of the Santa Rosa Policy Panel on Youth Access to Alcohol. Reprinted with permission.

Criminal Justice Statistics Center: crime statistics for Sonoma County or any California county for that matter. Some of these statistics go through 2002. This site has easy-to-read tables available for downloading on a wide range of topics, including:

Criminal Justice Flowchart
California Crime Index, 1952-2001

By Category

Rate per 100,000 Population
California Crime Index, 1952-2001

California Arrest Rates, 1960-2001

Total Misdemeanor Violations
Rate per 100,000 Population

Adult Felony Arrest Dispositions, 1975-2001
Type of Dispositions by Year

Percent of Dispositions

Adults Under State and Local Supervision, 1966-2001
Level of Supervision

Criminal Justice Expenditures, 1966/67-1998/99
By Program Area

Criminal Justice Full-Time Personel, 1968/69-2000/01

By Type of Agency

Domestic Violence-Related Calls for Assistance, 1986-2001
Number of Calls by Year

California Population Estimates, 1960-2001
At-Risk Population in Thousands

Dealer's Record of Sale, 1972-2001

Handguns and Long Guns

Number of Sales

Juvenile and Adult Drug Arrest Rates, 1974-2001
Rate per 100,000 Population At-Risk

Adult and Juvenile Incarceration Rates, 1960-2000
Rate per 100,000 At-Risk Population

Incarceration Rates for Drug Related Crimes, 1970-2000
Rate per 100,000 Population

Demographic Groups in California, 1970-1998
By Ethnicity

Criminal Justice Time Line
1822-2000

California Crime Clock

Don't miss SuperCell, our Crime Control Superhero!
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office, which has dared to defy California's three strikes law.
Sonoma County MOVES - Minimizing Occurances of Violence in Everyday Society. The MOVES 1995 Day on Non-Violence Community Forum Conclusions.
Mendocino County Local Government Internet Resources

Top of page

Job/internship listings or leads

Sonoma State University and Sonoma County Partnership, a new collaboration that began in the Summer of 2001.
The Sonoma County Internship Program
Where to learn about available jobs, resume writing and interviewing at SSU. There are also many other resources that you can reach here using the Career Center's self-directed career planner.
Career services at SSU and beyond:
1. JobTrak has many SSU internship listings
2. Job Ace is another source, but it requires a password obtainable through the SSU Career Services Center.
There is JobSmart for job hunters in Northern California.
Bay Area Jobs lists openings for hundreds of companies in the Bay Area.
The Career Center at SSU tells us: "California State Government Hiring Increasing. According to "Capitol Weekly," 2/9/06, the State is hiring 40, 600 new employees in 2006-07. The primary area of growth is in Corrections and Law Enforcement. Although most state agencies are in growth mode, other notable growth areas are environmental agencies (the Energy Commission, new Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Air Resources Bd., Dept. of Toxic Substances, Public Utilities Commission), and the Dept of Health and Human Services."

The Press Democrat, a local paper owned by the New York Times, has listings for jobs in (mostly) Sonoma County. Go to the job hunt link in the Classified section.
Jobs and internships with the Federal Government through the Office of Personnel Management.
Here is a resource for finding law enforcement employment all around the country.
Graduate programs in crime, criminal justice, forensics--you name it.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Online
Other national job search links and/or resume services include CareerMosaic, CareerPath, and Resume Guide, Monster Board, Headhunt (Legal Job Sites) and Online Career Center, to name a few.
Job Choices Online.
The latest edition of the Bureau of Labor Statistics biannual Occupational Outlook Handbook, which has employment projections, current salaries, etc. for most occupations or classes of occupations. Students facing graduation report liking this site, but many others doubtlessly will.
The Chronicle of Higher Education job bulletin
Law School Admission Council Online may be of interest to prelaw students.
Debt Burden Four Years After College -Executive summary: How much debt B.A. recipients have.

Top of page

Forensics links

Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body. The latest about the human body and forensics from the National Institute of Health.
Forensic Science Resources from NCJRS
Zeno's Forensic Site
Forensic Science Society
The ALA's Criminal investigation and forensic science: Sources for scholars and aficionados

Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory: Program Annual Report. The state of crime labs is central to the forensics function as it is understood in popular culture.

For the kids among or within you, enjoy these resources:

Back | Next Page