Rooted in history and the urgency of now, New Thinking talks to the people working to reform—or remake—the criminal legal system. It’s hosted by Matt Watkins.
Jeff Hobbs, deputy director of the Midtown Community Court, remembers crime-ridden midtown Manhattan in 1993 and describes the start of the Midtown Community Court, an experimental project that sought to remedy the rampant quality-of-life crime in the area. "1993 was a terrible time," Hobbs recalls, "a time when crime was not cloaked under darkness but in broad daylight."
Christine H. Lindquist, a senior research sociologist at RTI International, talks about reentry courts, recidivism, and what she's learned so far from a multi-year study of eight diverse initiatives. April 2013
BBC Somerset interviews Aubrey Fox of the Centre for Justice Innovation about Bristol’s IMPACT program, an initiative that brings together criminal justice agencies to provide supervision and support to chronic offenders in Somerset.
Phil Bowen, co-author of Payback with a Purpose and director of the Centre for Justice Innovation in the U.K., discusses what good "community payback" ("community service" in the U.S.) should look like, comparing the experience in the U.K. with New York City. The debate about what community payback ought to be comes at a crucial time for probation services in England and Wales, where the Government is committed to encouraging non-state organizations to provide community payback.
Shannon M. Carey of NPC Research discusses the impact of the Rockefeller Drug Law Reform, which in 2009 eliminated New York's mandatory prison sentences for most felony drug offenders. According to a study she co-authored, court-ordered treatment enrollment after the reform was implemented in 2009 increased by 77 percent.
Family Court judges should consider the impact of violence on families when making decisions about child custody and visitation, according to Kristine Lizdas, a managing attorney at the Battered Women's Justice Project. In this podcast, Lizdas discusses the Justice Project's four-part model for helping judges make more informed decisions. June 2013
The National Drug Court Online Learning System at www.treatmentcourts.org offers free training modules on a wide range of topics by national experts. In this podcast, Valerie Raine and Dennis Reilly, both of the Center for Court Innovation, explain how drug courts can use the system to educate new employees and keep their teams up to date on developments in the field.
Judge Michael Bordallo of the Family Violence Court in Guam discusses his specialized court, including challenges and opportunities faced by the court and stakeholders. The judge also offers a unique perspective on responding to domestic violence in an island community.
Judges Carolyn Minder and James Cawthon preside over the Ada County Domestic Violence Court in Boise, Idaho. The court is one of three domestic violence courts in the U.S. selected by the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women to serve as a mentor court, helping other courts develop more effective responses to domestic violence. In this episode of New Thinking, the judges explain how they divide their duties, work closely with the community, and promote rapid disposition of cases.
The Harlem Justice Corps is an intensive career development and service program for justice-involved young men and women. Project Manager Taí Alex explains how the initiative works, and participants Elijah Blount and Anthony Brown discuss what they've learned so far.
