In September 2005, the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice funded ten demonstration projects under its new Community-Based Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative. The following edited excerpt was taken from Lynchburg’s winning proposal.
The Lynchburg Community-Based Problem Solving Criminal Justice Initiative is built upon the premise that structured interventions with defendants at the early stages of crime can prevent further escalation of violence in even the most distressed community. Lynchburg’s proposal promotes the merits of bringing social services and mediation into the folds of the criminal justice process and strives to integrate the community court model into a traditional general court system in a small city with limited resources. It seeks to utilize the resources already present in the community and the court system in a more effective and community orientated approach.
To accomplish these goals requires inviting non-traditional criminal justice players—community members, social service and non-profit partners—to participate in the design and implementation of this initiative and asks them to work alongside members of law enforcement to repair the disconnect between traditional court sanctions and access to social services, creating community-driven sanctions for those who commit crime in the pilot project neighborhood.
The purpose of the initiative is to restore safety to the city’s most high risk neighborhoods and empower residents to reclaim their communities. The project will focus on Lynchburg’s Greenfield neighborhood, and eventually cover the entire city. Aside from reducing recidivism and crime rates, the inclusion of the community in the criminal justice system process as problem solvers allows them to feel empowered and to view themselves as important stakeholders in the process.