Funded by the National Institute of Justice, the Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation is a comprehensive study of outcomes at 23 drug courts and six comparison jurisdictions around the country. The study found that adult drug courts substantially reduce crime and drug use and produce a particularly large return on investment (in terms of both recidivism reductions and cost savings) among offenders who are a high risk of re-offending. This brief article summarizes the study findings and discusses their policy implications. Published in Judicature.
Dan Cipullo, director of the Criminal Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, discusses why and how the court expanded its community court approach from one neighborhood to cover the entire city. (February 2012)
Sociologist Andrew Papachristos focuses his studies on urban neighborhoods, social networks, street gangs, violent crime, and gun violence. As a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at Harvard University, Andrew will expand his use of network analysis to study crime in U.S. cities, paying particular attention to the way violence diffuses among populations of youth. During a break in a roundtable on collaborations between public health and public safety, he discusses how social network analysis can aid crime prevention.
Denise O'Donnell, director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice, offers closing remarks at the International Conference of Community Courts in Washington, D.C.
In his appearance at the International Conference of Community Courts, R. Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the National Office of Drug Control Policy, discusses the role community courts are playing in efforts to reduce substance abuse and drug-fueled crime. Read the prepared remarks.
Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson addresses the audience at Community Justice 2012: the International Conference of Community Courts in Washington, D.C.
Greg Berman, the director of the Center for Court Innovation, welcomes participants to Community Justice 2012: the International Conference of Community Courts in Washington D.C.
This report outlines some of the challenges of responding to retail theft and highlights several promising approaches that provide an alternative to the traditional justice system—whether via streamlined processing or by an alternative intervention for the offender. The report concludes with a guide for jurisdictions interested in piloting a program in their community to improve the response to retail theft.
Judge Joseph Gubbay explains how the Adolescent Diversion Program is expanding the justice system's options for dealing with 16- and 17-year-old defendants.
