Justice Department pushes new thinking on kids and crime
By Carrie Johnson
September 26, 2003
For a man who spent the bulk of his career as a public defender, Robert Listenbee’s new role walking around the halls of the U.S. Justice Department may not be the most comfortable fit.
But Listenbee, who became earlier this year, says his transition has been smooth. And besides, he says, he couldn’t resist the “extraordinary opportunity.”
Before he joined the federal government, Listenbee co-chaired the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence. Now he’s the man in charge of making its recommendations come to life. — packed with recommendations about the need for more research and attention on boys, rural areas and the education system — attracted scant attention because it emerged on the same day as the shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn., where Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adult staff members at the Sandy Hook school.
