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Red Hook Community Justice Center 15th Anniversary Celebration

Mar 16, 2015

Event Committee

Amanda Burden, Bloomberg Associates

John Feinblatt, Everytown for Gun Safety

Daniel Karson, Kroll

Judith S. Kaye, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Robert Keating, Pace University

David Kramer, The Hudson Companies

Eric Lee, Bennett Midland LLC

Mary McCormick, Fund for the City of New York

Herb Sturz, Open Society Foundations

Jeremy Travis, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Nicholas Turner, Vera Institute of Justice

Andrew Kimball, Industry City

Alain Bourgeois, Probitas Foundation

Jonathan Rosen, BerlinRosen

Craig Nerenberg, Brenner West Capital Advisors, LLC

Michael Jacobson, CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance

David Kennedy, National Network for Safe Communities

Sister Paulette LoMonaco, Good Shepherd Services

Dustin Yellin, Pioneer Works

Greg O’Connell, The O’Connell Organization

Randy Peers, Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow

Rosanne Haggerty, Community Solutions

Seymour James, Legal Aid Society

Lisa Schreibersdorf, Brooklyn Defender Services 

Ana Gasteyer, Singer/Actor

Andy Bachman, Congregation Beth Elohim

Jill Eisenhard, Red Hook Initiative

Organizations listed for identification.

Results

Reduced Incarceration: The Justice Center has reduced the use of jail at arraignment in misdemeanor cases by 50 percent.

Accountability: Compliance rates with court orders average 75 percent–a 50 percent improvement on the standard at comparable courts.

Public Trust: Approval ratings of police, prosecutors and judges have increased three‑fold since the Justice Center opened. 

Public Support: A door-to-door survey revealed that 94 percent of local residents support the community court. Before the Justice Center opened, only 12 percent of local residents rated local courts favorably. 

Reduced Fear: Since 1999, the percentage of Red Hook residents who say they are afraid to go to the parks or subway at night has dropped 42 percent.

Fairness: More than 85 percent of criminal defendants report that their cases were handled fairly by the Justice Center–results that were consistent regardless of defendant background (e.g. race, sex, education) or case outcome.

Click here to read more about research results, including caseload, sentencing, compliance, and other outcomes. Click here for an independent evaluation of the Justice Center completed by the National Center for State Courts.

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