This fact sheet provides an overview of the Center for Court Innovation’s Peacemaking Programs in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and Syracuse, N.Y. Peacemaking, inspired by a traditional Native American approach to justice, focuses on resolving disputes, restoring balance, and healing relationships among those affected by conflict and crime.
A fact sheet summarizing the results of a needs-assessment survey of the costumed characters, ticket and CD sellers, painted women, and panhandlers who work in Times Square. Beginning in the spring of 2016, these workers have had to conduct their business in “Designated Activity Zones” or risk a criminal penalty. The Midtown Community Court handles violations of the new activity zones.
Since the spring of 2016, people soliciting tips, selling tickets and CDs, and panhandling in Times Square have had to conduct their business in “Designated Activity Zones” or risk a criminal penalty. This report presents findings from a needs-assessment survey of these workers. Implications for programming at the Midtown Community Court that handles violations of the new activity zones and recommendations for policy reforms by regulatory bodies are discussed.
For a justice system to be truly just, it must be accessible to all individuals. However, litigants may face challenges when courts are not responsive to their cultural identity. For survivors of domestic violence, these challenges present additional barriers towards accessing justice and obtaining fair outcomes.
Undertaken to inform the work of the Center for Court Innovation’s Legal Hand project, this street-intercept study in Crown Heights, Brooklyn documents the most common civil legal needs facing the community, and how, if at all, community members address these needs.
This study examines the validity of the COMPAS with offenders who have a serious mental illness. A widely used risk-needs assessment tool, the COMPAS was found to be a good predictor of re-arrest with this population, although it was more effective in distinguishing low-risk offenders from all others than in identifying those who pose a medium as opposed to a high risk of re-arrest. Overall, approximately two-thirds of study-participants were classified as low risk.
This planning toolkit is a blueprint for communities, violence interrupter programs, and traditional victim service providers that want to improve their responses to young men of color who have experienced trauma.
This fact sheet explains the concept of procedural justice and offers a few simple strategies for courts and domestic violence stakeholders to enhance procedural justice and improve outcomes for both victims and defendants.
This report presents findings from an evaluation of the Brownsville Anti-Violence Project. The project was designed to reduce gun violence through focused deterrence aimed at high-risk parolees and their community networks, paired with efforts to present the justice system as fair and legitimate.
Since the first community court was created in 1993, a generation of judges, lawyers, and court staff have developed new strategies for working with those charged with low-level crimes. In this report, Brett Taylor shares lessons he learned first-hand from his years working as a defense attorney at the Red Hook Community Justice Center and helping other jurisdictions adapt the community courts model.
