We are committed to engaging communities and harnessing the power of the justice system to address local problems and improve public safety.
The Center for Justice Innovation created the first community court in 1993. Located a short walk from New York City’s Times Square, the Midtown Community Court works with people in the neighborhood to tailor creative responses to local concerns. Since then, we have worked to bring the idea of community justice to other New York City neighborhoods (Red Hook, Harlem, Brownsville, and others), and to jurisdictions around the world that are interested in reinvigorating public trust in justice, reducing the use of incarceration and forging new responses to minor offending. We have also helped launch the National Community Court Initiative, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance.
We have also worked to spread the idea of community justice beyond courts. For example, we have worked with prosecutors to encourage them to not only prosecute cases, but to solve public safety problems, prevent crime, and improve public trust in justice. Rather than simply tallying cases won and sentences imposed, prosecutors should measure the effect of their work on quality of life, community attitudes, and crime. To support such efforts, we work with local prosecutors and national experts such as the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and Fair and Just Prosecution.
Initiatives
National Community Court Initiative
The National Community Court Initiative supports the creation, enhancement, and evaluation of community-focused courts across the country.
Bronx Community Solutions
Bronx Community Solutions provides community-based alternatives to jail, restores community relationships, and helps participants avoid further criminal justice involvement.
Brooklyn Young Adult Court
The Brooklyn Young Adult Court seeks to provide meaningful alternatives to conventional prosecution for young people, ages 18 to 24, charged with misdemeanors.
Brownsville Community Justice Center
The Brownsville Community Justice Center works to reduce crime and incarceration, and strengthen community trust in justice in central Brooklyn.
Harlem Community Justice Center
The Harlem Community Justice Center is a neighborhood-based community court committed to bridging the gap between the court and community to achieve fairness and systematic equity in housing, commu
International Community Court Conferences
Every two years, we bring together passionate people dedicated to innovations in community justice.
Mentor Community Courts
These community courts enhance assistance provided by the Center for Justice Innovation by serving as regional resources for jurisdictions looking to implement similar community justice initiatives
Midtown Community Justice Center
The award-winning Midtown Community Justice Center (formerly Midtown Community Court) is one of the country’s first problem-solving courts.
Newark Community Solutions
Newark Community Solutions improves public safety in Newark, NJ, through alternative sentencing programs in the Newark Municipal Court, youth-based services, housing justice initiatives, and other
Red Hook Community Justice Center
The nation's first multi-jurisdictional community court, the Red Hook Community Justice Center seeks to solve neighborhood problems in southwest Brooklyn.
The Bronx Community Justice Center works to create a safer, more equitable Bronx through community-driven public safety initiatives, youth opportunity, and economic mobility efforts focused in the South Bronx. Our vision is to support the South Bronx community to become a safe and thriving place where local ownership, community-led investment, and youth opportunity can flourish. The Bronx Community Justice Center works toward this vision by focusing on community safety, restorative practices, and youth and economic development.
As the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations and institutions to shift to operating remotely, disparities driven by the digital divide became a shared problem across major cross-sector systems important to a community’s well-being. The Health, Housing, and Justice Alliance sought to eliminate inequities of fully virtual legal, healthcare, and social services through the creation of pop-up navigation centers and court hubs throughout Newark, New Jersey.
Kristina Singleton works on diverting people from court into supportive or educational programming. Among the programs she works with at the Midtown Community Court are Project Reset, which offers those charged with a low-level crime the chance to avoid court and a criminal record by completing community-based programming, and a recently launched youth gun-diversion program for young people who have been arrested on gun possession charges.
In Vital City’s special issue on New York City’s jails, Chidinma Ume, Senior Director of Community Justice at the Center, joins IntegrAssure’s Erin Pilnyak to share what it was like to be part of a citywide effort to reduce unnecessary case delays that leave people languishing in jail. Their conversation sheds light on how collaboration, data, and what Ume calls “a combination of patience and urgency” can help us safely reduce jail populations and ensure all people are treated with dignity as they navigate the legal system.
Residents of New York City’s public housing system are routinely forced to live without kitchen gas, electricity, and heat, sometimes for days or weeks on end. With support from the Red Hook Community Justice Center, some tenants of Brooklyn’s Red Hook Houses are seeking compensation—and a new bill sponsored by Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes proposes to reduce tenant rent during utility outages.
Our Neighbors in Action program received Brooklyn Org’s prestigious annual Spark Prize, which recognizes five nonprofits each year working to build racial and social justice in Brooklyn. The five winners of the award were honored at this year’s Spark Breakfast at the Brooklyn Museum. “We want to make Brooklyn a beacon for the world,” said Brooklyn Org president and CEO Dr. Jocelynne Rainey. “Not just in style, but in equity and justice.”