Prosecuting in the 21st Century

Steven Jansen, Vice-President of APA

We are blogging from the 6th Annual National Community Prosecution Conference in Washington D.C. The Conference brings together innovative prosecutorial leaders from across the nation to explore the latest innovations in crime prevention and intervention. The Conference is organized by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys in partnership with the Center for Court Innovation and the U.S Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Community Prosecution is a philosophy of justice that promotes pro-active problem-solving, crime prevention and community partnerships to enhance responses to crime.

The 6^th Annual National Community Prosecution kicked off today with remarks from an all star casts. Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson described Community Prosecution as the “future of the prosecution field.” Video remarks from Attorney General Eric Holder stressed the work of Community Prosecutors in promoting collaborations that reduce crime and improve public trust and confidence in law enforcement.  “Rather than waiting for the bodies to float down the river, you need to get up stream to stop the bodies from going in the stream to begin with, said Glenn Ivey, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney. D.C was a fitting venue for this year’s event. Attorney General Eric Holder started the first Community Prosecution proram in D.C in the mid-1990s. Now over half of all prosecutors’ offices nationally used some element of community prosecution, according to Assistant Attorney General Robinson.