Sorry Jim I am talking about a different group altogether. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee was established in the very early 90's by Bob Miller when he worked at Hennepin County with the CARE program. Once Bob left the county to work for NRP he brought CARE with him and the committee that once had many good accomplishments coasted almost to oblivion.
Mark Stenglien revitalized it to a certain degree but it could be doing soooooo much more than it is. There is so much power on this committee and the chance to advocate for real changes. Yet, it appears to go untapped. The fact that people are not aware of this committees existence speaks volumes. People in Ventura Village, Midtown and East Phillips did a presentation to this committee a few years ago about the crime in Phillips and Ventura Village. I know Weed and Seed groups have met with this committee as has some of the Northside groups. But, presentations are shortlived and evidently meaningless because it certainly hasn't motivated this group to expand it's horizons or engage in any true community dialog. In all fairness I believe the committee was responsible for getting parole officers assigned directly to neighborhoods. I believe that has helped somewhat. I agree with Vanessa Freeman that there needs to be additional membership on that committee. Most importantly there should be citizen advocates from the crime impacted neighborhoods. If people want to see this committee become a real catalyst for change you are going to need to call the mayors office, your councilmember and county commissioners. That is the only way it will happen. The overnight vigils and rallies and candlehours are useless and only creating media moments for T.V. and the politicians. Barb Lickness Whittier ===== "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
