CA May Allow Violent Inmate Firefighters:  Officials in California are considering an expansion of the state's inmate firefighting unit to allow inmates with violent backgrounds to work outside prison walls fighting wildfires, sparking a debate over public safety.  The AP reports that beginning next year, inmates convicted of violent offenses such as assault and robbery will be permitted to participate in the program, as well as inmates who have up to seven years left on their sentences instead of the current five.  Until now, even employing only nonviolent offenders resulted in hundreds of assaults and batteries, weapons possessions, indecent exposures and other crimes among inmate firefighters over the last decade.  Some officials are also concerned with the 43 unfenced, minimum-security camps scattered across the state that the inmates will be housed in, which with non-violent felons, averaged nine escapes each year.  California's inmate firefighting unit is the largest and oldest in the nation, and has dropped from 4,400 members to 3,800, under current reduced sentencing laws. 

Chicago Mayor Blames Crime Rise on Timid Police:  Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says that Chicago police officers are becoming "fetal" out of fear that they will face career-ending consequences for actions taken during arrests, citing officers' second-guessing as the cause of the city's uptick in violence.  John Byrne of the Chicago Tribune reports that during a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch in Washington, D.C., Emanuel contended that "what happened post-Baltimore, what happened post-Ferguson is having an impact."  He stressed that officers need to be encouraged to be proactive and engage in community policing without concern that their jobs are on the line.  The St. Louis County Police Department cites similar reasons for the police shortage they are facing. 

Republicans to Ram Criminal Justice Reform through Quickly:  Senate Republicans, in tune with the nation's crime rise and overly scrutinized police, have partnered with President Obama to liberalize federal sentencing policies and plan to get the criminal justice reform through "quickly."  Jeffrey H. Anderson of the Weekly Standard reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee has announced that it will hold a hearing on Monday October 19, and while amendments will be allowed, "bipartisan, bicameral support" will be maintained in order to move the bill along quickly.  Senator Jeff Sessions spoke on the bill Thursday, warning that we must be careful and cautious when considering legislation to cut prison sentences for drug traffickers and violent criminals.