Community Justice: an International Overview by Robert V

Community justice: An international overview By Robert V. Wolf GENE SORKIN/CENTER FOR COURT INNOVATION round the world, many criminal A justice practitioners are grap- pling with some of the same problems: increases in low-level crime; frustration with repeat offenders; overwhelmed police, courts, and prisons; dissatisfaction with an over- reliance on incarceration; and erod- ing public confidence in justice. Faced with these problems, many jurisdictions are testing new solutions. One of the approaches gaining traction is community justice—the idea that the justice system should be more aggressive in engaging communities and more reflective about its impacts on neighborhoods. In the U.S., community justice, which started in the 1980s with community policing, has grown from a Jack Straw, the United Kingdom’s justice secretary and lord handful of isolated experiments to a chancellor, sits on the bench with Judge Alex Calabrese, significant movement. The U.S. gov- during a February 2008 visit to Red Hook Community Justice Center in Brooklyn, New York. ernment has supported the develop- ment not only of community the world are turning these princi- of the North Liverpool Community policing, but community courts, ples into concrete programs to Justice Centre. British Columbia community prosecution, and an reform local justice systems. underwent an extensive period of array of community-based correc- public comment before formulating tions initiatives. Today there are over Engaging the community its community court, which is slated three dozen community courts in Typically, community justice pro- to open later this year in Vancouver. operation or planning across the grams seek to actively engage commu- Mock trials in Pretoria, South Africa, country, and the American Prosecu- nity stakeholders—local residents, give the public a better understand- tors Research Institute says that businesses, religious institutions, and ing of how courts work. The commu- nearly 49 percent of prosecutors’ others—during both planning and nity court in Plymouth, England, offices practice community prosecu- operations. Community courts and invites community members to sug- tion in some form. community prosecutors have used gest community service (or “unpaid Community justice projects in the community surveys to measure public work”) projects; to make this easer, U.S.—for example, the Red Hook attitudes toward the justice system; the court maintains lists at commu- Community Justice Center and Mid- established advisory boards to give nity centers to which ordinary citi- town Community Court in New York the public ongoing input into pro- zens can add their suggestions. And City, community prosecution initia- gramming; and created volunteer the Collingwood Neighbourhood Jus- tives in Portland, Dallas, and Indi- opportunities to give citizens a role in tice Centre in Melbourne, Australia, anapolis, and community policing “doing justice.” Community courts has relied heavily on community projects in both large and small and community prosecution pro- input to establish the initiative’s goals cities—have inspired dozens of repli- grams have also strengthened links to and even determine the décor, which cations in places as geographically their communities by moving from includes glass doors at the entrance varied as Canada, Great Britain, imposing centralized headquarters to that have been digitally impressed, at South Africa, Australia, and New smaller-scale neighborhood locations. the suggestion of community mem- Zealand. In Liverpool, England, policymak- bers, with the images of banksia, an What follows is a look at the ers strengthened community links by iconic Australian plant. Community underlying principles of community giving local residents a formal role in members are also responsible for justice—and how countries around the selection of the presiding judge overseeing rotating art exhibits. 306 JUDICATURE Volume 91, Number 6 May-June 2008 Punishment and help bourne provides access to a wide “the Hatfield model is based on the Beyond a commitment to engaging range of services, many available on USA model of dealing with small the community, community justice site, including drug, mental health, crimes, which then leads to less initiatives the world over tend to and financial counseling, and also crime in general.” emphasize alternatives to incarcera- help obtaining housing and employ- tion, like requiring low-risk offend- ment. Services are also available to Solving problems ers to participate in community crime victims as well as community Community justice programs don’t improvement projects. In Plymouth, members at large. “These services merely resolve cases—they seek to England, where citizens are invited mean that not only can many com- solve community problems. The to propose cleanup sites, projects munity justice issues be identified Collingwood Neighbourhood Justice have included everything from fixing and acted upon before they reach Centre is the first in Australia to park fences and repainting schools the courts, but once in court, the merge family, housing, guardianship, to helping elderly or disabled resi- underlying causes of crime and the civil, and criminal matters before a dents clean their gardens or repair needs of victims and defendants can single judge, Magistrate David Fan- their homes. be addressed,” according to Hulls. ning. Advocates say such a multi-juris- Community restitution, however, Department of Justice Secretary dictional structure allows the judge to is only part of the story. Community Penny Armytage says it “is not just address the big picture, especially justice initiatives also seek to about sentencing offenders but when members of the same family are “address the underlying root causes using the court as part of the net- involved in multiple cases at once. of why crime is being committed,” work of services in the community. Fanning says the design encourages says Rob Hulls, the attorney general That sat very well with us.” “consistency in regard to sentencing in the Australian province of Victo- and the administration of justice.” ria. With that in mind, community Quality-of-life crime A recent evaluation of South justice programs seek to link non-vio- Building on the “broken windows” Africa’s nationwide community prose- lent offenders to rehabilitative serv- theory, many community justice pro- cution initiative offered numerous ices, such as drug treatment, job grams, like the projects in Liverpool examples of problem solving, in which training, and debt counseling, seeing and Collingwood, focus on low-level prosecutors partnered with police and the arrest as a moment of crisis offending (called variously in Eng- others to develop creative solutions to when, research has shown, chronic lish-speaking jurisdictions “quality- discrete public safety problems. offenders are more amenable to of-life offending,” “lifestyle crime,” According to the evaluation, prosecu- receiving help and turning their lives “street crime” or “anti-social behav- tors helped eliminate a carjacking around. ior”) such as vandalism, prostitution, hotspot by working with local govern- The community prosecution pro- disorderly behavior, and petty drug ment to install better street lighting; in gram in Winnipeg, Canade, for exam- offending. The North Liverpool ini- another community, prosecutors part- ple, takes a rehabilitative approach to tiative, for example, recognizes that nered with police to stop vigilantism, both “Johns” and prostitutes. Crown petty crime, although traditionally a which had plagued the community. Attorney Susan Helenchilde actively low priority within the justice system, Inspired by such positive outcomes, participates in two diversion pro- is a high priority among community the National Prosecuting Authority’s grams: a John School for clients and stakeholders. The attorney general Acting Deputy National Director Prostitution Diverstion Camp for sex of England and Wales, Baroness Sibongile Mzinyathi said community trade workers. “The goal is to get Patricia Scotland, said that “these prosecution, which was already being Johns educated on the perils of con- sorts of anti-social crimes really deployed in pilot experiments in each sumer sex and to get sex trade work- impinge on the way people feel of the country’s nine provinces, will be ers to reconsider thir lifestyle and about their place.” rolled out in even more sites over the make some new choices,” Helen- Even community courts in South next two years. childe said. Africa, which has been plagued by Swedish community prosecutors The North Liverpool Community high rates of violent crime, take qual- have, among other problem-solving Justice Centre issues sentences that ity-of-life crime seriously. For strategies, focused on repeat offend- combine restorative punishments instance, the Hatfield Community ers—tracking them down, building (such as community service) with Court in the City of Tshwane (a solid cases that demonstrate a pat- help (such as drug treatment). Pro- municipality that includes the tern of offending, and seeking the bation staff supervise community nation’s administrative capital, Pre- maximum sentence. “In one of our service activities, and many social toria) addresses problems like drug smallest cities, they have a top-10 list. services are located on site, ensuring and alcohol offenses, violations of The next time someone on the list is that defendants have immediate municipal bylaws, and shoplifting. arrested, they keep him inside until

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