Engaging the community should be a top priority in a project’s early stages—above staffing, fundraising, even program planning. Why? Community justice is about partnerships and creating a true sense of partnership between criminal justice agencies and communities takes time. And hard work. The first task at hand is to identify the most pressing issues in a neighborhood. This job can be done best by the people who live and work there. They know the neighborhood’s history, its assets and its strengths. They also know its limitations and its weaknesses. No community justice project will succeed if it doesn’t target the needs of its community. Also, from a pragmatic perspective, community justice projects need all the political, financial and material support they can muster, and having the community on your side is an essential ingredient to securing this support. Beware of taking this support for granted. Remember that many communities are alienated and distrustful of government. The only way to overcome this is by proving your sincerity and commitment over the long haul, and by delivering on your promises. Finally, through engaging the community, planners and community members have an opportunity for mutual education. Planners get to learn about the real neighborhood problems and community members get to learn and participate in creating potential solutions that will provide real and lasting improvement to the neighborhood’s quality of life. Strategies for engaging the community include: 1. Interview Stakeholders Purpose: How to do it: 2. Attend Neighborhood Meetings Purpose: How to do it: 3. Convene Focus Groups Purpose: How to do it: 4. Create a Mechanism for Ongoing Community Involvement Purpose: How to do it: 5. Reach Out to Government Agencies Purpose: How to do it:
To gain an understanding of how the neighborhood works, its strengths and weaknesses, its assets and concerns; and to establish relationships with local decision-makers.
Meet with all the recognized leaders in the neighborhood (elected officials, local police, clergy, school officials, block association representatives, social service providers, merchants, social & civic groups, etc). Some questions to ask are: What do you think about the quality of life in the neighborhood? What are the community’s strengths? What issues are chronic problems? What do you expect from the criminal justice system? Who else should we be speaking with?
To show respect for the existing neighborhood infrastructure.
Attend as many community meetings as possible, including meetings of the parent-teachers association, Lion’s Club, block associations and others. Go just to listen—it sends the message that you aren’t just there to sell an idea. When appropriate, make a five to 10 minute presentation about your project. Explain how the idea came together and who supports it. Answer questions as clearly and honestly as possible. Don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know an answer or don’t have the authority to make a decision.
To get input from people who are not in leadership positions, including those who reside or work in the community, raise children there, own or rent property, and use its streets, schools, and parks. To ensure that the official leaders of the community accurately reflect the opinions and concerns of their constituents.
Assemble groups of about 10 people each and meet with them for an hour or two. Choose a setting that will be comfortable and convenient for participants. You might ask a local minister to invite a group of parishioners to a conversation at the church or the head of the parent-teacher's association to assemble a group of school parents. Ask an independent facilitator to run the group if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. Begin each focus group with an explanation of why you have assembled the group. Prepare a few questions. Try not to lead the participants. For example, instead of saying "does drug dealing make you feel unsafe?" ask, "Do you feel safe at night in the neighborhood?" "If not, why?" Emphasize that you are there to learn, not dictate.
To provide local stakeholders with an opportunity to participate in your project as it moves from concept to implementation.
Your relationship with the community will always be a work in progress rather than a finished product. Be prepared to carve out an operational role for local citizens. Some projects take a limited approach to engaging local stakeholders in identifying local problems. Others use a broader strategy, allowing citizens to set priorities and help run the project as well. Whatever course you choose, be sure to clearly articulate the responsibilities and limitations of civic engagement in your initiative. Possible avenues for community involvement include advisory boards, community impact panels, and community justice councils.
To get a clear picture of "business as usual" and to tap into the creative energies of the people who know the system best.
Start meeting with other criminal justice agencies—police, probation, parole, prosecutors, corrections and courts. Expand your scope to include any agency that is even remotely related to neighborhood problems, including those responsible for housing, health, welfare, and education. Gear your presentation to the audience: remember different listeners will be interested in different elements of what you are trying to do. Some questions to ask are: How is the government currently responding to the neighborhood’s problems? In a more perfect world, what could the criminal justice system be doing better?
