Reaching Out to The Private Sector

This week 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.

Target is well known for its retail stores and its ubiquitous red target corporate logo. What is less well know is that Target is also a major supporter of law enforcement through partnerships with over two thousand state, local and federal agencies, according to Brad Brekke, Vice President of Asset Protection. The initiative, Target & Blue, provides training and technical assistance to local police department’s exposing police professionals to best practices in the corporate sector. It is part of Target's larger corporate giving effort supporting education, the arts, and social services.

As Target sought to enter urban markets they realized that their risks would rise, but their resources to address them would not. Partnering with law enforcement is an essential element of their business strategy. Partnerships based on “mutual benefit” are best, according to Brekke. “We noticed that as partnerships go up, crime goes down and businesses go up,” said Brekke. One example cited is  Target’s funding of crime cameras in a Minneapolis business district. Law enforcement worked with the community on the initiative. The results: lower crime and increased business investment. To build partnerships with the private sector  Brekke suggested prosectors work on: 1) identifying the best partners, 2) focusing on an issue, 3) making introductions, 4) formulating a program, and 4) celebrating success. It is also important to measure the results of your partnership.

Community prosecutors should get to know business owners, advised Captain Josh Ederheimer of the District’s Metropolitan Police Department. Inviting business leaders to visit your office is one way to make a connection. Meet their needs first; ask how you can help them. Ederheimer also advised that you take the “Washington Post test:” Determine how your partnership will look from the outside; be transparent and keep good records; make sure your office vets any arrangements where private partners are providing travel or other resources; and when possible establish MOU’s.

Other panelist included Tom Zugibe, District Attorney of Rockland County, and Mitch Roth, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney from Hawaii.

Read More

Measuring Results in Community Prosecution

“I drove it like I stole it.”
- Jimmy Johnson, NASCAR driver

This morning’s panel focused on measuring results for community prosecution. Panelist Tom Zugibe, Rockland County District Attorney, and Rachel Porter Senior Researcher at the Center for Court Innovation discussed a project to assist the Office in developing performance measures. Julius Lang, Deputy Director of National Technical Assistance moderated.

Effective community prosecution efforts must measure their results in order to drive change. Sounds simple, but it is not. Most prosecutors measure the success of their office based on convictions, in fact, even among community prosecutors conviction rates are still highly prized. Performance indicators are best used to “clarify what is going on in an office,” according to Porter. Indicators also have to measure impacts; reductions in crime and reduced recidivism are prime examples.

Being transparent about success and failure presents a challenge for elected prosecutors, according to Thomas Carr the Boulder Colorado City Attorney. Carr described a situation where a community court project he championed was showing less than stellar results on an evaluation (the program was succesful in extending the time between re-offending which translated into fewer crimes and fewer cases in court). This information was used against him in an election. Identifying problems, developing responses to those problems and communicating the situation publically can help to immunize prosecutors against backlash when a specific initiative is not meeting its goals, according to Julius Lang. Lang highlighted a new effort by the Center for Court Innovation and BJA to understand and learn from failure in criminal justice reform.

To learn more about how to measure community prosecution visit BJA's Performance Measures site.

Read More

A Conversation with National Leaders in Prosecution

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.


Four of the nation’s leading prosecutor’s sat down to discuss their perspectives on Community Prosecution at the 6th Annual Community Prosecution Conference.

Seth Williams, the recently elected District Attorney of Philadelphia, had the most colorful quote of the day in describing his crime prevention philosophy: “The people of Philadelphia prefer not to be shot, rather than being shot and having their case handled well by the DA’s Office.” According to Williams, in Philadelphia 5% of the offenders commit 60% of the crimes. He stressed the importance of not re-inventing the wheel; his office is actively “borrowing” innovations from other community prosecutors around the country.

Michael Shrunk, the veteran District Attorney of Multnomah County, Oregon, and Charles J. Hynes, Brooklyn, New York District Attorney, described their offices’ many innovations. Both leaders developed the earliest acknowledged community prosecution programs. Hynes highlighted his reentry program, COMAlert, and his drug treatment alternative to incarceration program, DTAP, both have been independently evaluated as effective. Shrunk’s office implemented the Neighborhood Prosecutor’s Program in Portland and was a driving force by Portland’s drug court and community court projects.

Improving public trust and confidence in the justice system is an important outcome of community prosecution, according to Anita Alveraz, State’s Attorney for Cook County Illinois, who described her recent efforts to revive community prosecution in Chicago.

The 21st century prosecutor must work to ensure justice for victims and the community, while providing opportunities for offenders to become law abiding citizens. Even in the face of budget cuts and a deepening distrust of government, the panel conveyed that community prosecutors are making a difference.

Read More

Back on Track in San Francisco

Prosecutors across the country are seeing the value in targeting reentry as a public safety issue -- indeed, the prevention of recidivism through drug treatment, accountability measures, and other support mechanisms means fewer crimes and safer streets. In Brooklyn DA Charles J. Hynes was a leader on this front with the successful ComAlert Program.

Kamala D. Harris, the elected District Attorney of San Francisco, is one of these enlightened DA's and has an article in the Huffington Post about "Back On Track," a reentry program designed for nonviolent, first-time drug offenders.

There have been some good results for the program:

"For this population, the recidivism (or re-offense rate) is typically 50 percent or higher. Four years since the creation of this initiative, recidivism has been less than 10 percent among Back On Track graduates. And the program costs only $5,000 per person, compared to over $35,000 a year for county jail. That saves our city roughly $1 million per year in jail costs alone. When you add in the total expense of criminal prosecutions to taxpayers, including court costs, public defenders, state prison, and probation, the savings are closer to $2 million. And we cannot even begin to quantify the value of these individuals' future productivity, taxes and child support payments, or the brightened prospects for their families."

For more about Kamala D. Harris, who is the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco's history and the first African American woman in California to hold the office, click here.

Read More

The Economist: Bringing Drug Dealers Into the Fold

Thanks to our friends at Change.org for pointing to this recent article in The Economist about a unique intervention in High Point, North Carolina.

As you may know, there are been some recent efforts to re-think the way that local jurisdictions deal with low-level, quality-of-life crime. In High Point, the police department decided to work with community leaders to identify the top 16 drug dealers in the crime-challenged West End neighborhood. Once identified, the police built up a solid case of evidence against each of them over the course of some months. After arresting and prosecuting those who engaged in violence, the police "invited the rest in for a chat."

Confronted with evidence of their criminality, these individuals were forced to choose between ceasing their drug dealing or facing prosecution. At the same time, community service providers were on hand to offer jobs, training, or other responses to service needs.

As the article notes, it seems to have worked. The approach is currently being replicated in other jurisdictions under US Department of Justice funding, so hopefully we'll have a fuller body of evidence about this innovative tactic in the next 2-5 years.

Read More

"Its not about the gang, it's about the rest of the neighborhood"

By: Christopher WatlerUpper Manhattan Reentry Task Force Coordinator

I am blogging this week from the National Community Prosecution Conference in Los Angeles, sponsored by the National District Attorney's Association and the Center for Court Innovation.

The title quote came from Assistant U.S Attorney for the Central District of California, Chistopher Brunwin, as he described his approach to collaboration. AUSA Brunwin was joined by Kevin Gilligan of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office and a representative of the LAPD.

The take down of a major local gang was the main example discussed. For years, the Drew Street gang terrorized local residents through a range of alleged criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking, murder, and extortion. Local residents lived in fear and police patrols were routinely subject to objects being thrown at them. The effort to address this problem included a range of federal and local law enforcement stakeholders led by the Los Angeles HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area).

The strategy involved coordinated surveillance, arrests of major players, sweeps by probation and parole, city public works addressing community conditions like graffiti, demolition of the gang's main house, increased code enforcement, and meetings with community stakeholders. As a result of this effort crime is down and community residents are again able to utilize public spaces without fear, according Brunwin.

A handout provided by Kevin Gilligan of the LA City Attorney's Office highlights key elements of effective prosecutor-led collaborations. They include:

1. Defining the target area or problem using data -- e.g. crime data, resident feedback, etc. Use baseline data to set goals and measure success.

2. Clearly defining the goals. This can include: arrest of key crime actors, crime reduction goals, improved community conditions, reductions in calls for service, and surveys of community perceptions of crime.

3. Based on how success is defined, selecting partners that share your goals and are willing to work with you. Look for partners that have the expertise, skills, and tools you need. Understand what each partner needs to show success in their area.

4. Developing a clear timeline and identifing resource needs. What information can be shared? How much time is needed by each agency to do their part? What data will be collected and how? Pay close attention to sequencing of activities.

5. Developing a strategy with the community to maintain success. Create opportunities for community gatherings and appropriate uses of public spaces.

6. Spread the word and share the credit. Have a press strategy. Make sure each partner’s contribution is recognized.

Read More

Community Prosecution and Reentry

By: Christopher Watler
Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force Coordinator

I am blogging this week from the National Community Prosecution Conference in Los Angeles sponsored by the National District Attorney's Association and the Center for Court Innovation.

Community Prosecution is a crime-reduction approach that utilizes the authority of the prosecutor’s office to build problem-solving partnerships that reduce crime and strengthens communities. It has been growing as a philosophy and strategy since the 1990’s when pioneers like District Attorney Charles Hynes in Brooklyn, NY, and Mike Shrunk, Portland Oregon’s DA, began programs to address the underlying causes of crime. Most recently, the Democratic candidate for the Manhattan District Attorney’s seat has embraced community prosecution.

Today the lunch time keynote speaker was Bonnie Dummas, San Diego County District Attorney. Since 2005, her office has coordinated a reentry initiative for San Diego County. The program focuses on non-violent offenders, and identifies potentially eligible cases prior to arraignment. A readiness conference is held involving the defendant and their attorney. The defendant is advised that they must plead guilty to the charge in order to be eligible for the program. If they do plead guilty, probation and DOCS work out a “life plan” with the client. DOCS utilizes the COMPAS risk assessment tool, an evidence-base screening tool. The life plan and assessment information is used to guide the type of programming the client will receive in prison, and is adjusted during the discharge planning phase. This process avoids the 90 day “classification” period all convicted persons are subjected to when they enter DOCS. Instead, work can begin immediately on the life plan goals.

In prison, clients work with a primary counselor to achieve their life plan goals. The plan is regularly adjusted in advance of release to prepare clients for life after prison. Faith-based partners conduct prison in-reach to engage clients prior to release. Community prosecutors also visit clients in prison. A case manager from a treatment provider under contract with the county conducts a treatment assessment six months prior to release. Upon release to parole, clients are picked up and transported to their pre-arranged housing, where they are reminded of their life plan appointments.

The services received by clients once they are in the community are paid for through a voucher program where dollars for services follow each client—i.e. programs are paid if they are successful at engaging clients. Police help to keep tabs on clients in the community.

While a comprehensive evaluation has not been conducted yet, the program has shown some success. Since inception, 500 clients have been enrolled in the program, 223 have been released from custody, and only 32 (14%) have re-offended.

Read More