The Arc

What can be done right now to reduce the number of people sent to jail and prison?

The community court in downtown Spokane represents a marriage of two venerable pillars of democracy: the courthouse and the library.

The Center for Court Innovation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Quinnipiac University School of Law, hosted Justice Innovation in Times of Change: New Challenges, New Opportunities, a one-day conference in September 2016, providing an opportunity for practitioners from both inside and outside the justice system to learn about a range of topics related to chronic lower-level offending.

In April 2016, more than 400 participants from 110 jurisdictions gathered in Chicago for a three-day meeting on how to reduce crime and incarceration while improving public trust in justice.

Procedural justice, and its intersections with race, policing, and justice system legitimacy, was a major theme of our summit on criminal justice challenges and innovative reform efforts.

The Belmont Revitalization Project is one of many initiatives being led by the Brownsville Community Justice Center, which seeks to transform the justice system in Brownsville, reduce crime and incarceration, and strengthen public trust in justice by providing alternatives to incarceration and creating opportunities for diversion for youth and community members who come into contact with the law.

Bronx Community Solutions celebrates 10 years of providing alternatives to incarceration.

Participants from more than 75 U.S. jurisdictions and 10 countries gathered in San Francisco for Community Justice 2014, an international summit on how to reduce crime and incarceration while improving public trust in justice.

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio chose the Red Hook Community Justice Center as the setting for one of the first major appointments of his administration: William Bratton as police commissioner. In his remarks, the incoming mayor made clear why he’d chosen the Justice Center to make the announcement: he, Bratton, and the Justice Center all share a belief in the importance of community collaboration.

In an effort to improve the judicial response to 16 and 17 year old offenders, the Center for Court Innovation is helping the New York State Court System pilot the Adolescent Diversion Program. If the initiative succeeds, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman hopes to institutionalize it across the state. 

Reform and Research are at Top of Agenda as Justice Practitioners Gather in Nation's Capital.  Conference Draws Over 300 Attendees from around the World.

  In the summer of 2011, the Center for Court Innovation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, invited community justice practitioners from across the U.S. to share ideas about their work. The day-long roundtable, held at the Center for Court Innovation's offices in New York City on August 10, brought together representatives of courts, prosecutors' and defenders' offices, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and community members. Participating programs included the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Atlanta Community Court Restorative Justice Boards, Baltimore’s Community Conferencing Center, the Bronx Defenders, the Chittenden County (Vermont) – State’s Attorney’s Office, the Dallas City Attorney’s Office Community Prosecution Program, Midtown Community Court, Newark Community Solutions, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, Red Hook Community Justice Center, San Francisco Community Justice Center, San Francisco Neighborhood Courts, Vermont’s Community Justice Centers, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy – Drug Free Communities Support Program. Participants discussed challenges and ideas for expanding community justice approaches, among numerous topics. The goal of the roundtable was to produce a document that describes current practices and outlines some of the key challenges programs face when attempting to engage community members. To read the document, click here.     Participants: Lauren Abramson Executive Director Community Conferencing Center Baltimore, MD Judge Ronald Albers San Francisco Superior Court San Francisco, CA Lenore Anderson Chief of the Alternative Programs Division San Francisco District Attorney's Office San Francisco, CA James Berry Chief, Community Defense Division Public Defender Service for DC Washington, DC Carl Bevelhymer West 55th Street Block Association New York, NY Courtney Bryan Project Director Midtown Community Court New York, NY Yvonne Byrd Director Montpelier Community Justice Center Montpelier, VT Judge Alex Calabrese Red Hook Community Justice Center Brooklyn, NY Regina Cannon Atlanta Community Court Restorative Justice Boards Atlanta, GA Thomas J. Donovan State's Attorney Chittenden County, VT Steven Jansen Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Association of Prosecuting Attorneys Washington, DC Rosalind Jeffers Executive Assistant City Attorney City Attorney’s Office Dallas, TX Julius Lang (moderator) Director, Technical Assistance Center for Court Innovation Tomiquia Moss Coordinator San Francisco Community Justice Center San Francisco, CA  Katherine Nopper Community Participant Burlington Community Justice Center Burlington, VT Rev. Reginald Osborne Pastor Bethel World Outreach Ministries, Inc. Newark, NJ Robin Steinberg Executive Director The Bronx Defenders Bronx, NY Benjamin B. Tucker Deputy Director of State, Local and Tribal Affairs White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Washington, DC Karen Vastine Community Justice Coordinator Community and Economic Development Office Burlington, Vermont Marc Wennberg Director St. Albans Community Justice Center St. Albans, VT