Diane Dimond

Diane Dimond's New Site

Reducing Racial Profiling Depends on All of Us

by 7 Comments

The post 911 mantra, “If you see something – say something” appears to have taken an ugly turn these days. It used to relate to concerns about terrorism. If you saw an abandoned backpack or van or if you discovered evidence one could construe as bomb related the instruction was to immediately call police to investigate.

Today, citizens seem to have twisted that advice and call police with the pettiest suspicions or complaints about people who don’t look like they look. Thanks to ever-present cell phone cameras we can confirm several instances of racial profiling that have happened in just the last few weeks.   [Read more…]

Time to Bring Back the Asylums

by 16 Comments

What does the word asylum conjure up in your mind? An overpopulated mental ward with screaming patients frothing at the mouth? A snake pit, as depicted in the 1948 movie of the same name in which actress Olivia de Havilland, battles schizophrenia, shock treatments and a sadistic nurse?

The word asylum simply means, “An institution offering shelter and support to people who are mentally ill.” So why don’t we have more psychiatric asylums to help the ever-growing number of Americans who battle serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bi-polar disease? “Asylum” is not a dirty word. [Read more…]

Confronting Tough Questions Following the #MeToo Movement

by 42 Comments

Bill Cosby is a convicted felon. A jury has declared him guilty of three counts of indecent sexual assault.

If you’d told me a few years ago that I would one day be writing lines like that about the actor called “America’s Favorite Dad” I would have thought you were nuts. But there it is. The first post #MeToo trial conviction and, I daresay, it probably won’t be the last. [Read more…]

Child Sex Abuse: Men Break Their Silence

by 5 Comments

Each of the men on the dais was successful in his field. There was a Broadway actor from the hit musical “Hamilton,” a popular TV personality and a District Attorney. All came to talk about being sexually abused as a child and how it had impacted their life. Each story was unforgettable because males often keep sex abuse secret, sometimes for their entire life. 

The symposium was sponsored by the New York State Office of Victim Services. The keynote speaker had also been a victim.  [Read more…]

Sometimes First Responders Need Help After Helping You

by 13 Comments

Could everyone reading this just pause for a bit and really think about our fellow citizens who, literally, put their lives on the line for us every day?

I’m talking about police officers and firefighters who face deadly dangers and serious stressors on a regular basis. Gruesome car accidents, raging fires with trapped victims screaming for help, domestic abuse calls that can easily end with officers injured or killed. Hostage situations and the ever-present possibility of having to respond to a mass shooting or bombing.  Blood, terror, death is a way of life for these brave first responders. [Read more…]

Fighting Sex Trafficking One Internet Site at a Time  

by 2 Comments

Dateline Washington: “The Justice Department announces the seizure of Backpage.com, the Internet’s leading forum for prostitution ads, including ads depicting the prostitution of children.”

All I can say is, it is about time.

Since 2010, state and federal politicians and law enforcement have known about Backpage.com’s classified section which offered a seemingly [Read more…]

About Diane

I was raised in the great American Southwest by parents who stressed personal responsibility, integrity, compassion for others and the ability to tell a good story. Growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico I absorbed the moral and ethical values I would carry with me throughout life and use daily as a journalist.
After a humble beginning in Albuquerque radio (covering the cops and courts beat) I moved east. First, radio in Washington, DC where politics was the name of the game and then to New York where I got my first taste of television. It was to be a long draw at the TV trough, from New York to Hollywood and back again. And always my most fulfilling work was done in the crime and justice genre. My long running syndicated column allows me to deep dive into the human stories behind the headlines on a weekly basis. Writing books about crime and how society reacts to it still fascinates me.

Email Diane at Diane@DianeDimond.com

Social:

Facebook: /Diane.Dimond

Twitter: @DiDimond

LinkedIn: /Diane Dimond

Popular Posts

ATTENTION: PREVIOUS COLUMNS LOCATED HERE!