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Building a Community Court

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Building a Community Court BUILDING A O ~ ii COMMUNITY COURT I N 1. R (O I.) U s II 0 N " ~HIS CATALOG OFFERS TOOLS, advice and resources about community courts. What are community courts? Community courts harken back to a bygone era, when courthouses stood at the center of the village green. Like the courts e of yesterday, community courts embrace old- fashioned notions of accountability, tying a cr~me to its consequences, and lending a helping hand to those in need. Community courts are located in neighborhoods rather than centralized office complexes. More important than their location is their philosophy: community courts take an aggressive approach to solving neighborhood problems like vandalism, landlord-tenant disputes, juvenile delinquency and drugs, e Colllnltlniry cotlrts use the authority of the justice system to restore neighborhoods that have been victimized by crime, neglect or disorder. They encourage greater citizen involvement, asking local residents and merchants to identify and prioritize neigh- borhood hot spots and eyesores. And they b,'ing an array of new partners into the justice system -- mediators, drug counselo,'s, :o k ,d!d doctors, teachers, employment specialists -- transforming the court into a hub for social services. What's the point? Why would anyone want to spend the time and energy and money to build one of these new courts? The answer is simple: community courts have proven effective in addressing quality-of-life problems and improving public confidence in justice. The first such court was the Midtown Com- mu,3itv Court in New York. Since Midtown opened in 1993, a number of other states have picked tip on the idea-- from Florida to Oregon, from Pennsylvania to Colorado i';.~;'.~.~ ~o. t :" i This catalog is a l'oadmap for anyone inter- ested in community courts. The pages that I7~ < ~,:t~i: ~ ,~-,~ ~ ~ ..... follow will walk you through the three stages of planning a new court: (~) Understanding the Problem | Finding Solutions | Making It Happen &long the wa B you will be asked to consider ome provocative questions. You will also be pointed toward resources that can provide further assistance. HILE COMMUNITY courts are still a new phenomenon, one thing is clear: there is no one-size-fits- all model. Different c o m m u n i t i e s h ave different problems. And different problems merit different responses. Planners should start by asking some basic questions: What do local residents think about the quality of HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT life in their neighborhood? What are the --e neighborhood's strengths? What isstles are Rae Ann Palmer, Office People didn't trust the chronic problems? And how do people feel of the City Manager: police, didn "t understand about the court system? Talk with a broad For the last several years, what judges do and didn't l have coordimlted the like attorneys. When you spectrum of local voices -- the store owner, Comprehensive Corn- added it all up, it seemed the cop on the beat, the senior citizen on munities Partnership here like the perfect recipe for a the park bench, the teacher at school. in Hartford. Basicall3; comnlttnity court. this is a program that Anecdotes alone are not enough. You also works to fight crime by Ar the urging of tile City building coalitions with Manager's office, the idea need data. Analyze statistics -- census data, police and community of a community COtlrt was patterns of offending, types of dispositions- groups. To do this, we taken up by a working to corroborate what you have learned from reached out to neighbor- group that included repre- talking to local stakeholders. hoods, talking with sentatives from the court anyone who would listen. system, the prosccution In the process, l really got and defense bars, and to know Hartford. What 1 local police, probation found surprised me. What and parole departments. was on people's minds? It With strong community wash 't the major crimes support already in place, that get reported in the the group was able to win paperr Instead, the people funding for the project l talked to were concerned from the state legislature. about quality-of-life Hartford expects to issues -- loitering, public ]aunch its community urination and street court in November, 1998. disturbances. At the same time, l heard a great deal e of cynicism about the criminal justice system. RESOURCES The x\,lidt-own Colnmullity Court Video a twelve nzinttte video on the Court narrated by Charles Km'a/t The ~\,lidrown Comlmmitv Court Experiment: % A Progress Report a review of A,lidtott,,n ~ first three years of operation ConanatHairy Courts: A Manual of Principles a discussion of the principles underlying community- focused courts, published by the Bureau of Justice Assistance Community Justice Bibliography readings ott commtt~ity courts and related commttnity justice projects Engqging the Comnumity: A How qb Guide lessons learned from planning community courts in A'lidtown, Red Hook and Harlem 0 What are the problems in your community? mO How are courts responding? 0 What could they be doing better? I-INDIN bOLUllONb RAFT A DETAILED CONCEPT paper that outlines your best ideas. How will the court re- spond to your neighborhood's problems? The answer will depend on the problem. In some communities, the top priorityD may be juvenile delinquency. In others, it may be quality-of-life crime or domestic violence. Each of these isstles demands a differ- ent kind of community court. RED HOOK, BROOKLYN @ Don't confine your thinking to court cases, Wall), Bazemorc, justice systent with some- however. Community courts should be much Community Activist: thing horrendous. The more than just courtrooms. What does this I grew up in Red Hook. community court can help 1 remember how this place them see that there~ a flip mean ? Because of their coercive power and used to be, hefi,'e the drugs side. Believe me, they 71 get symbolic presence, courts can be effective took over. Despite its image, the message. launching pads for programs like mediation, Red Hook isn "t a bad community service, job training, education neighborhood -- it ~ just a By working with a neigh- and health care. place that has some prob- borhood advisory group, lems. Crime is an issue, but Red Hook planners learned it ~ not the only issue. that there was broad Courts cannot do all of this by themseh,es. Families that live here in support for a court that Courts need partners. Who are these partners? public housing also have to would take an aggressive A good place to start is with the stakeholders deal with domestic approach to neighborhood who were identified during the first phase of violence, kids acting out of problems. In response, Red planning- businesses, social service pro- control and problems with Hook will be a muhi-juris- their landlords. And make dictional court, handling viders, block associations and youth groups no mistake: these issues are low-level cmninal cases, can all play a part. all inter-connected. Once I family court matters and learned that Cl comntunity landlord-tenant disputes. court was in the works, I Social services at the court, tried to encottrage the court which is under construction to take a holistic approach, and is expected to open in to really be a one-stop 1999, will be available to center for people's prob- anyone who lives and works lems. The court, the police in the neighborhood. and community leade~ have to work hand-in-hand. @ People in this neighbor- hood always associate the ~~y'J! '~'~ RESOURCES Neighborhood Justice at the Midrown Community Court an essay published by the National Institute of Justice that looks at the challenges posed by community courts How It Works a step-by-step guide to case [low at the A'lidtown Community Court F.xpcriiuenrs in Technology: A Handbook for Court Innovators a pamphlet on the use of technology at the A'lidtott:n Community CoHrt Dispensing Justice Locally: Effects of tile i\,lidtown Conlmunitv Court executive summary of an independent evaluation of the Court O Why is a community court the right response to your community's problems? @ What kinds of programs will be housed at the community court? 0 Who can help the court carry out its mission? MAKINL II HAPPEN OW COMES THE HARD part -- turning your ideas into realit): Finding a site for a community court can be complicated -- particularly in an era of "not-in-my-backyard" activism. There are many possible models. Community courts can have their own build- ings or they can share space with existing institutions. In either case, the courthouse BALTIMORE, MARYLAND should be as welcoming as possible -- archi- tecture should reflect the program's mission. Hon. Martha Rasin, each problem separately. District Court of She kept us focused, and as Picking a site is one thing. Paying for the Maryland: Soon ,;tier 1 a result we all feel a deeper became Chief Judge, 1 im:estment in the project. court is quite another. Be as creative as possi- learned that a community ble. Go back to your list of stakeholders and court was in the works In addition to hiring a ask: who will benefit from this project? The for downtown Baltimore. coordinator, the Greater answer may surprise you. Community courts With the help of my Baltimore Committee can appeal to a broad range of funders, predecessor, Chief Judge used private funds from including those interested in health, housing Robert Sweene3; a vision the Abdl Foundation for the court was already to purchase a site near and economic development. in place. There was still Baltimore's waterfront. plenty of worh to be done.
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