To effectively address the problem of mass incarceration, prosecutors must adopt ways to respond to more types of cases and charges that don’t rely on jails and prisons, when we know that community-based alternatives can create more positive outcomes for everyone. The use of alternatives to incarceration for non-violent and drug crimes has helped shrink the criminal legal system’s footprint, but some system actors are reluctant to expand these alternative solutions to people with charges including violence, further hampering efforts to reduce jail and prison populations.
“A New Approach" synthesizes the cross-site findings from interviews with prosecutors across five agencies that are utilizing alternatives, such as pretrial, restorative justice, diversion, and resentencing options. The report highlights how prosecutors balance the competing goals of punishment and rehabilitation, the role of discretion, and the variation in definitions of violence. We describe the role of local and national context in shaping prosecutorial decision-making and present lessons learned from the sites’ implementation experiences for other agencies interested in expanding access to alternatives for cases involving violence.
The "Prosecutors and Responses to Crimes of Violence: Notes from the Field" offers in-depth case study findings from prosecutors who are broadening eligibility criteria for alternatives to provide guidance to jurisdictions looking to expand alternative approaches to crimes of violence.