By SUN MEDIA
PETERBOROUGH -- A 62-year-old man was sentenced yesterday for sexually assaulting young girls at his business, Santa's Farm.
Dave Rome, known to many as "Santa," pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two teenage girls on his farm between February and June.
Rome was sentenced to 134 days time served and one year of probation.
He's also to attend counselling and sexual assault rehabilitation courses.
Crown attorney Brian Gilkinson told court Rome grabbed one girl on the buttocks on several occasions and gave another girl a kiss on the mouth.
Rome, who has run Santa's Farm since 1998, says he's going to have to close the business.
On its website, Santa's Farm is described as a place where you can "listen to the laughter and excited chatter of young and old children who are absolutely transfixed by their surroundings."
Gilkinson said Rome would discuss the girls' breast sizes, make inappropriate remarks about oral sex and play "hugging" games.
Police arrested Rome on his farm June 17 after the two victims complained to a guidance counsellor.
"I'm very sorry," Rome said to Judge Robert Graydon. "When we opened up the farm we did it in the memory of my niece. We thought we were doing something good for the world."
Santa actor guilty of sex assault
Cops find up to 6 bodies at Ohio rapist's home
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND - A convicted rapist who fled before police arrived to arrest him on new rape charges was arrested Saturday in his inner-city neighborhood after police found as many as six bodies at his home.
Police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said Anthony Sowell was walking down the street in the east side of Cleveland when authorities spotted him and took him into custody.
Sowell initially denied he was the man authorities were looking for but admitted his identity as officers began checking his fingerprints, Stacho said.
Officers have found three bodies and believe they have discovered three more but are awaiting confirmation from the coroner, Stacho said.
The first two bodies were found Thursday night when police went to Sowell’s home to arrest him on charges of felonious assault and rape. Police say he had spent 15 years in prison for a 1989 rape.
Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller identified two bodies as black females and said one had died of a violent death ruled a homicide. No race or gender was determined for the third.
The identities and matter of death for the three had not yet been determined. The decomposition of the bodies meant it would take awhile to determine how they died.
Police established a command post in the neighborhood to take missing-person reports and additional information on outstanding missing persons in the neighborhood.
Minutes before the arrest was made, police Chief Michael McGrath tried to reassure parents that it was safe for their children to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood if they followed standard precautions like avoiding strangers and staying in a group.
Detectives with a search warrant found two bodies Thursday on the third floor of a duplex and began checking a fresh grave dug in the basement. The bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, suggesting they’d been in the home a long time.
Police were checking missing-person reports back to June 2005, when Sowell was released from prison.
"Life will mean life' under proposed murder law: Justice minister
OTTAWA — Multiple murderers and serial killers could be ineligible for parole for their entire lives if a bill introduced on Wednesday becomes law. Judges will be empowered to impose consecutive periods of parole ineligibility on murderers who kill more than one person, putting an end to "sentence discounts" which treat single and multiple killers the same, said Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.
We must protect our children: federal ombudsman
This from Holly's Fight for Justice/Holly's Fight to Stop Violence,
To read the entire article go to the following link..
http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2148646
Posted By MAGGIE RIOPELLE , TRIBUNE STAFF
Protecting children is everyone's responsibility, said Steve Sullivan, the federal Ombudsman for victims of crime.
At a special meeting hosted by Child Advocacy Centre of Niagara in Welland council chambers yesterday, Sullivan talked about startling statistics when it comes to child sexual exploitation and more specifi-cally, images on the Internet.
Sullivan doesn't use the word child pornography because if an adult had been sexually assaulted and those images were to be posted online it would be called what it is -- rape.
Tories move to toughen parole rules for non-violent criminals
By Sidhartha Banerjee, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - The Conservative government is moving to end automatic early parole for non-violent offenders in a move aimed at financial fraudsters following a spate of highly publicized scams.
With allegations of Ponzi schemes grabbing headlines in several provinces, the government wants to toughen rules that allow non-violent offenders apply for early parole after serving just one-sixth of their sentence, following a first conviction.
Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said legislation would be tabled Monday that would make it harder for them to get out of jail so quickly.
"As Canadians have been made painfully aware over the last few months, not all criminals carry guns," Van Loan said.
"Their weapons of choice may be phoney balance sheets or glitzy portfolios designed to deceive honest Canadians into handing over their hard-earned money, often their entire life savings."
Currently, first-time criminals can get parole after serving one-sixth of their sentence under a provision known as accelerated parole review - unless they're considered a threat to commit a violent crime.
Full parole generally comes after serving just one-third of their sentence, virtually automatic as the parole board currently has little leeway when it comes to non-violent offenders.
The government had been hinting at this policy change for months, as hundreds of investors were swindled in a variety of high-profile scams.
Van Loan said the change would also apply to other criminals, like low-level drug dealers.
"This would build on the government's measures to ensure the punishment fits the crime," Van Loan said.
Van Loan says the policy change would cost $60 million for the extended prison stays - which he defended as a bargain, given all the money that fraudsters steal from innocent victims.
The announcement came at ground zero for financial fraud - Quebec - where thousands of people were swindled by disgraced financier Vincent Lacroix , and where an alleged Ponzi scheme by Earl Jones has prompted calls for tougher laws.
In response, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson also announced legislative changes that would oblige white-collar criminals who bilk their victims of more than $1 million to serve at least two years in jail.
The new legislation would also bar them for life from handling people's money and possibly force them to pay their victims back.
Jean-Guy Houle, who lost $195,000 to Lacroix, welcomed the government's announcement on the one-sixth issue, which has drawn the ire of fraud victims.
"I'm happy to hear the announcement by the federal government when it comes to white-collar crimes," Houle said.
"These guys shouldn't be allowed to be free and to do whatever they want from the point of view of the society from who they stole millions of dollars."
The Conservatives have introduced a series of crime measures over their time in office.
Last week, legislation received royal assent that will limit the amount of credit prisoners can get for time spent in custody before and during their trial.
Judges have normally reduced prison sentences by two days for every day a person spends in jail awaiting trial and sentencing. In some cases, that ratio has been 3-to-1.
Parliament's budget office, Kevin Page, is working to tabulate the cost to taxpayers of the Tories' crime agenda.
NON-VIOLENT CRIME CRACKDOWN!
200 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR!
POOR LEGISLATION, IT WILL NOT MAKE YOU SAFE!
WHITE COLLAR CRIME.....
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/10/26/parole-early-law-non-violent-van-loan.html
Child Porn
NEW GLASGOW – Twin brothers, twin offences, twin sentences.
David Scott Hammond and James Corey Hammond, both 20, were each ordered to serve a three-month intermittent sentence and 18 months of probation for downloading Japanese anime images and live images of child pornography.
The brothers were charged last November after their sister-in-law saw some “distressing” images of children “as young as two years of age” on two computers in the New Glasgow home where the twins resided, special Crown attorney Craig Botterill told New Glasgow provincial court Wednesday.
Both men admitted to downloading images.
“It’s impossible to tell which young man did what from a forensic perspective,” Botterill said. “Both acknowledge they had been accessing and downloading these images.”
The images included “videos depicting sexual assaults of barely pubescent boys, around 12 years old, some pictures and cartoon drawings,” Botterill said.
Approximately 90 per cent of the images were of cartoon drawings called Japanese Anime, while the remainder were of actual children. An examination of the computer showed that one or both of the Hammond twins had done Google queries to see if anime was legal, Botterill said. While it is legal in the United States, Canada has taken a firm stance that the representations constitute child pornography.
Both Corey and David had been sent for a risk assessment through the provincial sex offender treatment program. David’s report was fairly positive and indicated he had a low risk to re-offend, prompting the Crown to reduce his charges to a summary offence, which lowers the mandatory minimum sentence that comes with a guilty plea. Corey’s report, however, was not as bright. The report’s author said that Corey admitted that he was attracted to 12-year-old boys and sometimes, while walking down the street, “thought of using toys to approach boys of that age in the community, which is of some concern to the Crown,” Botterill said.
An examination of the computer showed that one twin had visited an American site that assists people with approaching young teen boys and advocates relationships with young boys. Further, psycho-somatic testing showed that when Corey was presented with visual stimuli, he indicated strong physiological preferences to pre-pubescent boys between the ages of 12 and 15 and had strong responses to sexual abuse of children as young as eight years old. Corey was placed at just below a moderate risk to re-offend. During the course of the testing, he needed help, a sentiment he echoed during his court appearance Wednesday.
David’s report indicating he had less of a predatory bent, but he also expressed a desire for help.
The Crown recommended both twins receive the same sentence, although the mode of trial was different for both boys.
A mandatory minimum sentence of 14 days in jail is required for a summary conviction of this crime – which David is subject to – while the mandatory minimum sentence for an indictable conviction, like Corey’s, is 45 days.
The Crown pressed for four months in jail, saying the sentence has to serve as a deterrent for others and denounce the crime publicly as well as punishment for the brothers, but both defence attorneys argued against the sentence. Both defence attorneys pushed for a lighter sentence. Corey’s lawyer, Steve Robertson, expressed concerns about how the twins would handle jail.
Judge Theodore Tax said that imposing a minimum sentence would not make clear that anime child pornography was illegal in Canada.
“The images creates a market, whether anime or live images, and victimizes the people that are most vulnerable,” said Tax.
Court orders CSIS to hand over secret file
October 20, 2009, By Jim Bronskill, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - A federal judge says Canada's spy service "has seriously damaged confidence" in the court process and must help restore trust by handing over a secret file in the case of terror suspect Mohamed Harkat.
In a decision made public Tuesday, Federal Court Justice Simon Noel ordered the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to give him details of a confidential source the spy agency is using to support allegations against Harkat.
The government is trying to deport the Algerian-born Harkat using a national security certificate, a rarely employed immigration provision.
CSIS alleges Harkat, arrested almost seven years ago, is involved with the al-Qaida terror network - a claim he denies.
In his ruling, Noel said CSIS "undermined the integrity" of the court's work by failing to disclose relevant details of a polygraph examination of another source in the Harkat affair.
CSIS neglected to tell him a secret informant in the case failed portions of the lie-detector test - a lapse the service itself has called "inexcusable."
Further, Noel said he was unimpressed with evidence about the polygraph matter - which first made headlines last spring - from three CSIS witnesses, whose names are confidential.
On the contrary, the CSIS explanations led Noel to conclude information the government filed in support of the certificate against Harkat has been "filtered" and that promises to the court have been broken.
"Filtering evidence, even with the best of intentions, is unacceptable," Noel wrote.
The judge said while it doesn't appear the witnesses deliberately tried to mislead him, CSIS failed to give them "proper advice or support," amounting to an institutional failure by the spy service.
"The rule of law cannot be set aside because of a lack of time, resources or institutional resistance to the evolving context of security certificate proceedings."
Noel gave CSIS five days to turn over copies of the file on the second covert source to the court and to two special advocates, appointees who have clearance to see secret evidence and serve as watchdogs for Harkat.
Neither Harkat, his counsel, nor the public will be allowed to see the classified source file.
In a statement Tuesday, CSIS stressed that the court determined the shortcoming in disclosure was not an intentional effort to hide information.
"The service reacted promptly to this incident by informing the court, and quickly implemented new processes, including enhanced training, to improve the accuracy and completeness of information that CSIS provides to the court relating to the reliability of human sources," CSIS added.
Jennifer Schuett, told reporters Tuesday that she never gave up hope her attacker would be brought to justice.
October 13, 2009 DNA leads to arrest in 1990 Texas assault By Juan A. Lozano, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DICKINSON, Texas (AP) — Authorities on Tuesday made an arrest in a nearly 20-year-old southeast Texas case where an 8-year-old girl was attacked and left for dead in a field, unable to cry out for help because her throat had been slashed.
DNA evidence tested last year led authorities to arrest 40-year-old Dennis Earl Bradford in connection with the 1990 assault in Dickinson, said Dickinson Police Chief Ron Morales.
Bradford was arrested in North Little Rock, Ark., where he has lived the past seven years. At the time of the assault, Bradford, originally from Dickinson, lived about two miles from the apartment where the victim was kidnapped, according to the arrest affidavit in the case.
The victim, Jennifer Schuett, told reporters Tuesday that she never gave up hope her attacker would be brought to justice.
“I hope that my case will serve as a reminder for all victims of violent crime to never give up hope in seeking justice, no matter how long it might take,” said a tearful Schuett, 27, who still lives in Dickinson, about 30 miles southeast of Houston.
Schuett was taken from her family’s apartment in the early morning of Aug. 10, 1990.
From her hospital bed after being found, she told investigators through handwritten notes that she was asleep in her bedroom when a man who identified himself as “Dennis” opened her window, grabbed her and drove away with her. While she was in the car, the man choked her four times. He took her to a wooded area, got her out of the car, undressed her, sexually assaulted her and then used a pocket knife to slash her throat, according to the arrest affidavit.
She was discovered about 14 hours later in a field by a group of children.
The Associated Press does not normally name alleged victims of sexual abuse, but Schuett and authorities used her name in publicly discussing the case, and she also has a Web site devoted to her case.
“After the attack, Jennifer remembers laying naked in the field and being unable to yell for help and unable to get up or move. Jennifer (said) that as she was lying in the field, she knew she was going to die,” according to the affidavit.
“That little 8-year-old girl defied all the odds,” Morales said. “She miraculously survived this brutal attack.”
Houston FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard Powers said because of new DNA technology not available when the crime occurred, Dickinson police investigators resubmitted evidence in July 2008 for testing at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Va.
The lab found DNA on male underwear recovered at the scene and ran it through the FBI’s national Combined DNA Index System. The DNA matched Bradford, who was in the system after a 1997 kidnapping conviction in Arkansas. Police said he kidnapped a 35-year-old woman, sexually assaulted her and cut her throat. He served four years of a 12-year sentence in that case.
A police sketch that Schuett helped authorities create after her attack looks remarkably similar to Bradford’s Texas driver’s license photo, Morales said.
Bradford was arrested Tuesday morning by North Little Rock police, as well as by a Dickinson police detective and a Houston FBI agent who traveled to Arkansas, as he drove to his welding job with his wife, authorities said. Bradford has two children, police said.
Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said authorities will work to extradite Bradford and then present the case to a grand jury for indictment.
Bradford has been charged with attempted capital murder and faces up to life in prison if convicted. It was unclear whether Bradford has any legal representation.
“This event 19 years ago was a tragic one. I stand her wanting you to know I am OK,” Schuett said. “I am not a victim. I am victorious.”
Canada has deported close to 19,000 foreign criminals
October 13, 2009, By Tobi Cohen, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - Canada has deported close to 19,000 foreign criminals and security threats from the country in the last decade and many of them are being booted to the most dangerous places on Earth.
Figures from the Canada Border Services Agency show that hundreds of deportees have been dispatched to places like Haiti, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
That's despite a general prohibition on deportations to those countries, which are the five currently listed on Canada's Temporary Suspension of Removals list.
Criminals are not protected by any such amnesty and at least 555 people have been deported to listed countries since 1999, according to federal figures.
The list exists to ensure people are not deported to places where war or natural disaster could prove life-threatening, but the CBSA offers no apologies for making exceptions in these cases.
"Our position is clear, Canada will not be a safe haven to those who endanger the safety and security of Canadians," agency spokeswoman Patrizia Giolti said in an e-mail.
"During a temporary suspension of removals, CBSA continues to remove criminals, national security cases, war criminals and individuals who have committed crimes against humanity."
Figures show criminal and security removals represent only a small fraction - 16 per cent - of all deportations from Canada. Just over 115,000 people have been deported since 1999.
Stewart Istvanffy, a Montreal lawyer who has represented thousands of hopeful migrants during his 20-year career, said he's all for kicking heinous criminals out of the country.
But he believes some of these so-called thugs are facing unjust removal for minor drug or shoplifting offences.
He has seen a number of cases involving young local Haitians who wind up with minor criminal records after turning 18, and become targets for deportation.
"The police come to them and say they're gang members and often they're not, but they treat them all like public dangers," Istvanffy said.
"Somebody who came here when they were two years old and they've lived all their life here and they discover they're not Canadian when immigration tells them at age 20 that they want to deport them, I don't think they should be deported."
Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, shares his concerns.
She recalls a case a few years ago involving a Congolese teenager who was nearly separated from his entire family and sent back to the Congo for shoplifting. The removal did not proceed, she said, although the incident raised many questions.
"We certainly have concerns about it being very broad in terms of any kind of criminality," she said.
Istvanffy cites the case of a Congolese man who spent 15 years in Canada before being slated for deportation. He says his troubles stemmed from a 10-year-old fraud conviction for cashing a false cheque - a crime committed during the man's early 20s for which he paid a small fine.
"This is a guy who has solid reasons for being in real danger of detention, torture and possible death and, because of being found guilty of one small criminal offence, the (Temporary Suspension of Removal) moratorium does not apply to him," Istvanffy said.
"That type of case, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I've seen about a half-dozen like that."
Canada ushered in tougher legislation to make it easier to deport non-citizens after the infamous 1994 Just Desserts killing in Toronto.
The incident involved a young woman who was shot to death during a botched robbery at a cafe. The three men charged in the case were Jamaican citizens who had been living in Canada since they were children. Only one of them was eventually deported.
Istvanffy said Canada's attitude toward foreign criminals got even harsher when the Immigration Act was overhauled in June 2002.
He believes even non-citizens ought to benefit from the principle of proportionality - that the punishment ought to fit the crime - and that Immigration and Refugee Board officials aren't doing a good enough job finding that balance.
Bishop gets new bail conditions on child porn charges
October 9, 2009, By Terry Pedwell, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - A Catholic bishop facing child pornography charges will live among other priests in a quiet neighbourhood as he awaits trial.
On Friday, a judge granted Raymond Lahey's request to live in Ottawa until his trial begins, after residents in the New Brunswick town where he was staying complained about his presence.
Faced with the prospect of having nowhere to live, Lahey pleaded with the local Roman Catholic Archdiocese this week to take him in, Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast said in a statement.
"When Bishop Raymond Lahey called our diocesan offices on Wednesday afternoon, he was facing very few - practically no - options with respect to a residence in Ottawa," said Prendergast.
"In Christian charity, and believing that it was the action that the Lord would want us to take, I have accepted that he stay at our priests' residence.
"I thank the priests of our residence for their generous spirit in receiving him in their midst."
Lahey resigned last month as bishop of the diocese of Antigonish, N.S., after he was charged with possessing and importing child pornography in Ontario.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 4.
The bishop will be monitored closely while in Ottawa, and anyone he may come in contact with will be made aware of his strict bail conditions, said police Det. Dan Melchiorre.
"A lot of (the bail conditions) have to do with the Internet, computers," Melchiorre told reporters after Lahey's brief court appearance.
"Obviously there's other conditions in there about being with children under the age of 18."
Lahey surrendered his passport to police Friday and will have to report to authorities every two weeks, beginning Oct. 17.
The bishop was charged after border agents at the Ottawa airport discovered graphic sexual images of young boys on his laptop computer as he was returning from an out-of-country trip Sept. 15.
The decision to lay charges against the bishop was not made lightly, said Melchiorre.
He described how investigators determine whether a criminal offence has occurred as they sift through computer images downloaded from the Internet.
"The Internet is vast, and (people) may come across one image that is potentially illegal," said Melchiorre.
"I'm not saying that is good, but I'm saying it can happen. And it's up to us to investigate to make sure that in these cases that there's no doubt in our mind that the issue is the charges are sustainable in court."
Prendergast said allowing Lahey to live at the archdiocese was difficult.
"I am aware, of course, of the serious charges pending against Bishop Lahey," he said.
"I am also aware of how this matter has deeply saddened and shaken our Catholic brothers and sisters, including those of us in ordained ministry."
A search warrant used to probe Lahey's laptop computer revealed how customs officers found several sexually explicit images of boys believed to be as young as eight years old while the bishop was detained at Ottawa's airport.
The document said customs officers became suspicious when Lahey avoided eye contact, and was evasive when officers asked him whether he was carrying a laptop.
Border officials flagged Lahey because he was a man travelling alone and his passport showed several trips to Southeast Asia, where several countries are known for child pornography.
Ex-NHLer Theo Fleury says he was sexually abused by junior hockey coach
October 9, 2009, By THE CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTON - Former NHL star Theo Fleury says he was sexually abused by his junior hockey coach, Graham James.
Fleury's account of abuse is detailed in an autobiography called "Playing With Fire" that is set to hit shelves next week.
Excerpts of the book by the former Calgary Flames forward appeared in advance on www.macleans.ca.
James, who could not immediately be reached for comment, was jailed in 1997 after admitting to sexually abusing two players on his junior hockey team - ex-NHLer Sheldon Kennedy and another plaintiff who was not identified.
Rumours swirled at that time the other victim was Fleury, but he refused to address the matter.
Fleury - whose NHL career was derailed by drugs and alcohol - made a comeback attempt with the Flames in training camp this fall, but the 41-year-old was cut.
To: The Honourable Lynne Yelich
This from Holly's Fight for Justice,
Established in 1992, L.I.N.C. (Long-Term Inmates Now in the Community) became a non-profit society in September 1998 and a registered charity in November 1999. Committed to preserving community safety, the L.I.N.C. Society performs a valuable service throughout British Columbia by assisting its members in finding ways to break the cycle of incarceration and create meaningful lives. L.I.N.C. provides in-reach service to persons serving life sentences, other long-term offenders, and to federally sentenced women at the Fraser Valley Institution for Women who are eligible for conditional release. It also facilitates three weekly support group meetings with offenders, their families, staff, community volunteers and victims in attendance. The support groups are one way that L.I.N.C. provides a bridge between the institution and the community. L.I.N.C. also provides employment and volunteer services in the Central Fraser Valley. L.I.N.C. is further involved in building positive awareness through public speaking, literature, youth education, fundraising, and community events.
At first glance, it would perhaps seem strange that L.I.N.C. is also deeply involved in victims’ issues. However, public safety is the society’s foremost concern. Over the years, L.I.N.C has sponsored the Vagina Monologues in the Fraser Valley, put on productions of “Missing” throughout British Columbia, has had offenders and victims speak together throughout the province on the human impact of murder and has co-sponsored three national victims of crime awareness week forums. L.I.N.C. believes that it is important to be accountable for one's behaviour and that in that accountability there is hope hence their slogan "Hope for the Hopeless." L.I.N.C. believes in the importance of giving back to the community and that you are less likely to rob and steal in a community where you have a vested interest.
L.I.N.C. has been busy developing ideas for social enterprise businesses. The first project is the Mission Food Exchange where the food rescue and distribution principle will be integrated with meaningful employment and assistance for inmates returning to the community and other marginalized people. This would allow people the opportunity to give back and build self esteem while assisting in alleviating hunger, reducing waste and improving the environment.
Low-income clients, such as seniors, the disabled, single mothers, new immigrants and people struggling with drug and alcohol addictions, would be referred to the stores by social-service agencies. Clients would be given identification cards to use at the food exchange store where food would be sold at cost, typically for about 30 cents on the dollar. The variety of dry goods, meat and frozen products would change depending on the food coming in from donors.
What is particularly exciting and innovative is that L.I.N.C. would like to donate a portion of the profits from the food exchange to help establish and maintain a healing centre for victims of serious crime. Currently the food exchange is being supported in British Columbia for funds from the Community Adjustment Funds through Western Economic Diversification.
It would be great if you could show your support for this worthwhile project by either emailing or phoning the Minister in charge of Western Economic Diversification-the Honourable Lynne Yelich MP.
Her contact information is as follows:
Unit 71 - Market Mall
2325 Preston Ave.
Saskatoon
Saskatchewan
S7J 2G2
Yelich.L@parl.gc.ca
306-975-6472
306-975-6492
National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence..
Conference Purpose:
The National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence provides valuable professional education on the latest research and on innovative health care prevention and clinical responses to domestic violence for all health care professionals, including physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, dental hygienists, mental and behavioral health providers, social workers, public health personnel, researchers, domestic violence advocates, alternative health care providers, health care administrators, health policy makers, health professional students, victims/survivors and others. Specialized half and full-day pre-conference institutes will be held on October 8th followed by the two-day conference, October 9-10, 2009. The Conference includes an exhibit hall for vendors.
Conference Goal:
The goal of the Fifth National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence is to advance the field of health care's response to domestic violence.
The conference will: specifically examine the long term health impacts, co-occurring issues, and responses related to survivors, children, perpetrators, and communities effected by domestic violence; describe the latest physical and mental health findings related to risk factors for, effects of, and clinical and health services prevention, identification, and response to domestic violence; highlight innovative research, practices, programs, and partnerships among health systems, providers, public health programs, legal systems, social service agencies, and domestic violence advocates that improve patient safety and health status at the local state, national and international levels; emphasize prevention and intervention strategies relevant to diverse cultures, races, classes, ethnicity, religions, physical abilities, ages, genders, sexual identities, geographic settings and communities.
CONFERENCE WEBSITE
http://www.fvpfhealthconference.org/
CONFERENCE AGENDA
http://www.fvpfhealthconference.org/agenda.htm
Guards say weekend riot at Brandon, Mba. jail tied to prisoner overcrowding
October 5, 2009, By THE CANADIAN PRESS
BRANDON, Man. - Manitoba jail guards say a weekend prison riot shows inmate overcrowding in the province is growing worse.
Paul Olfert, head of the union representing jail guards, says the province needs a new jail.
If it doesn't get a new institution, he says someone is going to get seriously hurt or killed.
One inmate suffered minor injuries in the Sunday riot at the Brandon jail, which lasted several hours.
The jail was originally built to house 160 inmates.
It's currently housing nearly twice that many.
