NCJ Number
234941
Date Published
2007
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the 10 sites that have received grants under the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Community-Based Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative, which aims to broaden the scope of problemsolving justice, testing this approach with wider defendant populations, giving judges more sentencing options, and applying key problem solving principles outside of the specialized court context.
Abstract
The 10 sites represent diverse jurisdictions and a wide array of approaches. The grants are intended to produce problem solving models that may eventually be applied throughout the American justice system. The principles emphasized in the efforts of the sites are enhanced information, including better staff training in complex issues that include domestic violence and drug addiction; community engagement in helping the justice system to identify, prioritize and solve local problems; collaboration among a diverse range of individuals, government agencies, and community organizations; individualized justice based on the matching of individuals to appropriate community-based services; accountability through compliance monitoring; and the ongoing collection and analysis of data that measure outcomes and process as well as costs and benefits. The sites are also encouraged to emphasize diversion, which holds offenders accountable while using resources efficiently. Efforts of the 10 sites to date are described. The 10 sites are Lynchburg, VA; the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians in upper Michigan; Chesterfield County in South Carolina; Seattle, WA; Athens County in Ohio; Clackamas County, OR; Pima County, AZ; San Diego, CA; Atlanta, GA; and the Bronx, NY. By incorporating the principles of problem solving into their local criminal justice system, the 10 projects have the potential to improve outcomes for the long term. 4 notes and 8 suggested readings