Vowing focus on juvenile justice, Suffolk D.A. Conley takes oath

Promising efforts to reach out to young people and build partnerships to support their families, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley was sworn in last week for his second full term, taking the oath of office at Northeastern University.

“Over the coming months we’re going to work closely with faith and community partners, educators, law enforcement and other advocates to review changes and improvements that can and should be made in the juvenile justice system,” Conley said. “This will not be an effort to simply get tougher — though in many areas we clearly need to make juvenile justice oversight and sanctions more meaningful — but to make our approach to juvenile justice smarter.”

These steps are necessary, Conley said, to stem the tide of violence among young people in Boston and elsewhere.

“The sad reality is not merely in the numbers, but in the way that too many simply accept that these victims and their killers were each somehow fated to early graves or prison cells,” he said. “The tragedy is not merely the concentration of crime in certain neighborhoods, but the ease with which some would forsake them in a bid to cut their losses.”

Conley noted that Suffolk prosecutors secured convictions in 90 percent of their homicide cases over the past five years, a rate more than 25 percent higher than the national average for large urban counties.

He also urged recognition for the state and local police with whom his office works on a daily basis, including the commanders of the Boston Police Homicide Unit and Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit, the investigators who comprise their staffs, and the numerous prosecutors, victim advocates, civilian investigators and office support staff who have helped to cut the backlog of pending Suffolk County cases by more than half during 2006.

“When I first took office, it was not the least bit uncommon for cases to take two, three, or even four years to come to trial,” Conley said. “Today, the time it takes to move most cases has dropped dramatically, with many being tried and disposed within a year.”

New City Council president proposes ‘07 rule changes

City Council President Maureen E. Feeney has unveiled plans for revising the rules of the Boston City Council for 2007, calling for a revamping of the council’s committee structure that she said “will help the council exercise its duties more effectively.”

“I believe that we have presented rules which encourage dialogue and debate in council proceedings, promoting collegiality and respecting that all members have a voice,” said Feeney.

Under the proposal, the City Council will provide opportunity for brief debate before issues may be moved to the committee of the whole under Rule 5, the rule regarding which matters should be brought before the council. The proposal also makes the Committee on Youth Violent Crime Prevention a standing committee, and alters the procedure for calling hearings before the Committee on Government Operations.

The proposal will also eliminate six council committees: the Environment and Historic Preservation, Employment and Workforce Development, Health and Human Services, Hunger and Homelessness and New Bostonians committees, along with the Special Committee on PILOTS.

Some of the responsibilities of those committees will be merged into three newly created committees: Environment and Health, Human Services — which will now address the issues previously covered by the New Bostonians Committee — and Labor and Workforce Development.

The changes also provide for a two consecutive year term limit on the council presidency, to which Feeney was elected Jan. 1.

A vote on Feeney’s proposal was expected to take place at the council’s Jan. 31, 2007 session. The proposal requires seven votes to pass.

City to crack down on litterbugs for unpaid trash fines

Mayor Thomas M. Menino filed a home rule petition with the City Council last week that would allow the city to impose penalties on those who do not pay fines for trash and other code violations.

“The cleanliness of our city is an important quality of life issue in all of our neighborhoods,” wrote Menino in his letter to the Council. “If we are to influence individuals to pay more attention to the use and conditions of their business and residences, then our ticketing procedures must be clear and enforceable.”

The mayor’s proposal would allow the city to place liens on the property of owners who have not paid bills on so-called “green ticket” violations for code violations such as illegal dumping, site cleanliness and improper storage of trash. Additional penalties for those who do not pay green ticket fines could include restriction of access to city services like building permits and residential parking stickers.

Councilor Jerry McDermott told the Boston Herald he liked the “idea of getting tough on scofflaws.”

“Under the current system, it is too easy for landlords to say if no one is making them pay, why pay?” said McDermott, who represents Allston-Brighton, an area densely populated with college students.

As a home rule petition, the act must be passed by the City Council before going to the state Legislature and then the governor for approval.

Menino also ordered that the names of the city’s top code violators be publicly listed on the city’s Web site at www.cityofboston.gov, a move aimed at shaming the delinquent litterbugs into paying their bills.

Order filed for special election to name late Kelly’s City Council successor

In accordance with the City Charter, Council President Maureen E. Feeney filed an order Tuesday with the Office of the City Clerk to call for a special election to fill the seat of the late Councilor James Kelly, who passed away last month.

The order, which was expected to be approved at Wednesday’s council session, calls for a preliminary election to be held April 17, with a final election coming on May 15.

The City Charter specifies the procedure for filling a vacancy on the council and, within a specified time period, calls on the City Council to approve the date for the special election. Until a councilor for Kelly’s former territory of District Two is named, the office will remain open with the assistance of the Council President’s office.