For youths on probation, the club is an Evening Reporting Center, which provides an alternative to juvenile hall. Those assigned to the center by the Ventura County Probation Agency must attend the Boys & Girls Club’s Teen Center every day after school, usually for between 20 and 45 days.
Violence & Justice
Sonoma County resident Kami Reep was fired from two consecutive bookkeeping jobs in 2015—but not because she’d performed poorly or done anything wrong. In each case, she was fired because she had to take time off after her abusive ex-husband kidnapped two of their three children.
Gun owners who have been convicted of driving under the influence are more than four times as likely to be later arrested for a firearm-related or violent crime, according to a new study.
When Cristina Cortes helped her friend leave an abusive relationship, there weren’t many places for the victim — a bisexual, undocumented woman — to seek shelter or aid.
Telephone hotlines staffed by advocates have long been a lifeline for victims of domestic violence. While how we communicate has changed in the digital era, high rates of domestic violence remain a widespread problem, especially among younger women.
Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed into law SB 877, which requires the state Public Health department to collect information on the circumstances surrounding any death caused by physical force or power against someone, including homicides and suicides.
One in five California adults with children living in their homes said they were physically abused as a child, and one in 10 were sexually abused, according to data released this week.
Senate Bill 1322 prohibits law enforcement from arresting or charging minors for prostitution or loitering with intent to commit prostitution. The bill, by Los Angeles Sen. Holly J. Mitchell, also requires police to report suspected abuse or neglect to county child welfare agencies when they encounter children involved in commercial sex acts.
Amid increased public scrutiny of law enforcement tactics, some Southern California agencies have started specialized training to help officers read the signs of autism and respond appropriately.
In 1992, when Holly Austin Gibbs was 14-years-old, she met a man at a New Jersey shopping mall who convinced her to run away from home. He told her she was pretty enough to be a model, and promised to help her find a glamorous job in Los Angeles.