The following is a transcript.
ROBERT V. WOLF: This is Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. I’m recently back from Dallas where the Center for Court Innovation sponsored with the Bureau of Justice Assistance Community Justice 2010, the first international conference of community courts. Today I’d like to share with you a conversation I had with Dianne Gibson, who is one of the hosts of the conference as the manager of the three community courts in Dallas. My role at the conference was to interview participants for a video about community courts that the Center for Court Innovation is producing with support from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance. On our way to the South Dallas community court, which is one of three mentor community courts in the United States, Dianne and I stopped at a parking lot near a carwash that had been once the site of a homeless encampment. She described to me the conditions that used to exist there and how the community court collaborated with various partners to address the problem.
DIANNE GIBSON: This building here was one of the actual camp sites for homeless encampment. Also, the carwash used to have all kind of activities. But thanks to our mayor, Mayor Tom Leppert got involved. Our councilperson, Councilwoman Carolyn Davis, and our Southeast Dallas Police Department, the best division in Dallas, they all got involved with us, with the city attorney, and we have made that a much better place, actually much better, much safer. And it’s really a carwash now—not a flea market—it’s actually a carwash.
WOLF: And when you say flea market, was it stolen goods?
GIBSON: Everything. I mean one Saturday I came over, and I was like you guys, there’s actually a chuck wagon over here. And it was—they were selling everything. They were selling movies; they were selling shoes. I was like you guys—I called Ros and told her, you cannot believe what I am looking at.
WOLF: Ros Jeffers?
GIBSON: Uh-huh. Ros Jeffers, which is the executive assistant city attorney that’s over community prosecution, over community courts. But I just couldn’t believe it. I was like anything you want to buy. And my joke was, girl, I think I can buy my house over here.
WOLF: And how did that impact quality of life in the neighborhood?
GIBSON: It had a total impact. The neighbors were all complaining and they were brought to our attention. We have one neighbor that’s a property owner next to the carwash. He actually brought a video to the court to show us that the video showed us on the weekend, on Saturdays and Sundays, that there were actually just so many cars you couldn’t even come down Martin Luther King Boulevard. You couldn’t get to the carwash. They were parking on his property and damaging his sprinkler system, damaging in his grass and everything.
WOLF: How did you respond to the problems?
GIBSON: What we did was is that we actually teamed together. They came in and cleaned out the entire camp. Those that had active warrants, I’m sorry to say had to be actually transported. Those that needed housing, we were able to try and locate them housing.
WOLF: So when you say “to clean it out,” what did the team consist of? And how did you do it? Was it a one-time thing? You came in, in one day?
GIBSON: No. We’ve done it several times. We had to do it several times in order to actually get the message across that this is not a place to actually set up an encampment. So you have to do it at least several times before they actually get the message that you know what, we’re going to have to move somewhere else because each time we set up, they’re going to come back through and clean it up.
WOLF: And so, who was actually involved? Were the police here? Were social service agencies?
GIBSON: Yes. Dallas police department, social service agency, TXDOT, and the community prosecution. It was all a team effort.
WOLF: And you came down at night or during the day?
GIBSON: No, during the day; during the day.
WOLF: And what’s TXDOT?
GIBSON: TXDOT is the highway—that does the bridges, the highway bridges and what have you. They’re the people that manage that part of it.
WOLF: When you responded, you said you, you know, some people with warrants had to be incarcerated or processed through the justice system.
GIBSON: Right. We tried to get an assessment. If it was treatment, try to get them in treatment. If it was housing, try to locate housing for them.
WOLF: Maybe you could put this in context for me. So the court was involved, which for a traditional court would be probably an unusual thing. But for a community court, it’s kind of part of doing business, isn’t it?
GIBSON: It’s everyday business with community courts because each person that comes into community court, there’s a certified case worker there that does an assessment. Once they have been arraigned and they enter a plea of not guilty or no contest, that person then sees a case worker. And the case worker would do a full assessment on that individual to find out what are the underlying problems, what are some of the needs. Once they’ve identified those needs—and those needs could be just anywhere from the fact that I just need some proper identification or I need treatment for drugs, alcohol, job placement, job training, maybe it’s disability, or maybe it’s just somebody that needs housing—and so, whatever that need may be, then the case worker and our job is to try and find some of our community partners to address the need.
WOLF: One of the principles of community court is combining punishment and help. So in addition to providing links to services and helping people address their underlying problems whether it’s drug addiction or homelessness that might fuel criminal behavior, how do you—where does punishment come in?
GIBSON: The punishment phase comes in if they can’t afford to pay the fine in court costs, then they have to come back to this very community and actually do community service projects. Like some of our community service people will actually help us clean up and keep these lots clean. And that’s what they will actually come back and do. They will come back to the very community that they committed the crime to do the cleanup. And that’s part of the punishment phase.
WOLF: And how long has Dallas had community courts?
GIBSON: Six years. We just celebrated six years, September 30th.
WOLF: And you recently opened your third community court.
GIBSON: We recently opened our third court April 2010. Thanks to our mayor, Dwaine Caraway.
WOLF: So clearly, the Dallas community responded positively to the community court experience.
GIBSON: Yes. Thanks to our Mayor and city council people. They have been tremendous; I mean, excellent supporters.
WOLF: And the residents like the gentleman you mentioned whose sprinklers are being damaged by the cars and stuff, do you get support from the people who live in the community?
GIBSON: Yes. We get excellent support from the community people especially our homeowners association president. We have a group that we call the Golden Girls. And these are just these little senior citizens that make sure they keep us abreast of everything that’s going on. They either are going to call the community prosecutor. They’re going to call the court. But anything that’s going on to deteriorate their neighborhood in any way, they’re going to let us know. We actually bring city hall into the community.
WOLF: How has the South Dallas neighborhood changed since the South Dallas Community Court opened?
GIBSON: One of the things that we are most proud of is the fact that now we have a 93 percent compliance rate in South Dallas. So we’re just really excited. And in addition to that, vacant lots that used to be so, just an eyesore in the community are no longer eyesores. In addition to that, those people that needed help, that was on the streets, that needed treatment, that needed other services, we were able to help some of those people get off the street. And so, naturally, we haven’t saved everybody, but we haven’t stopped trying either. But those that we did make a difference in their lives, they are now going from being in the streets to now being productive members of society. And so, we want to say that we made a difference in their lives. In addition to beautifying the community, like one thing is working on that carwash now, people now on weekends can ride up and down Martin Luther King Boulevard without the traffic congestion now. Thanks to no-parking signs and what have you. They can now actually go to the carwash and really get a carwash.
WOLF: That’s great.
GIBSON: Yeah.
WOLF: Imagine that.
GIBSON: Yes. So those are some of the things. And so, hopefully, we have actually reduced the crime in this area. Thanks to the southeast police division and working in partnership. So all together, what we’re trying to do is not only making a beautiful neighborhood but making a safer neighborhood.
WOLF: Thanks, Dianne. It’s been really interesting talking to you. And I’ve been talking to Dianne Gibson who’s the manager of the three community courts in Dallas, Texas. I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications of the Center for Court Innovation. Thanks for listening.
Dianne Gibson explains how the South Dallas Community Court eliminates neighborhood eyesores.