Problem-Solving Justice News Archive

In 1992, Patrick Daly, a principal at an elementary school in Red Hook, was accidentally murdered in a drug-related shoot-out. In the months following his death, Brooklyn D.A. Charles J. Hynes began to speak out publicly about public safety in Red Hook, saying that the neighborhood would be an ideal location for a community court.

Given its history, it is fair to say that many Red Hookers were understandably hesitant about ambitious new government initiatives. In attempting to win community support for the Justice Center, this attitude would prove to be planners' largest obstacle.

Roughly 70 percent of those who appear at the Midtown Court are unemployed and many lack the skills to find work. Court planners realized that to reduce recidivism, the Court needed to help offenders obtain skills and find jobs. The question was: How could job training and job placement be incorporated into the functioning of the Court?

Before developing a community court project, planners need to define the major problems a neighborhood faces. This article breaks down that process into six steps.