A community court, often called a neighborhood or community justice center, is a neighborhood-focused court that applies a problem-solving approach to local crime and safety concerns. This article, authored by a Center for Court Innovation researcher and published in the Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Eds. Gerben Bruinsma and David Weisburd, 2014, pp. 408-416), provides an accessible overview of the community court model, relevant research, and related controversies.
As the first U.S.-based evaluation of the The Fourth R: Strategies for Healthy Young Relationships, a dating violence prevention curriculum, this randomized controlled trial tests the effectiveness of the program with middle school students in the Bronx, New York.
This report provides process evaluation findings from eight reentry courts. The report concluded that organizational partnerships were critical to the success of the reentry courts and identified several common implementation challenges. The report also includes qualitative data from interviews and focus groups highlighting that although certain areas could be improved (e.g. employment and housing), most reentry court participants had positive impressions of the program.
With funding from the U.S. State Department, the Center for Court Innovation along with the Inter-American Commission for Drug-Abuse Control of the Organization of American States completed a diagnostic study of the Addiction Treatment Court in Guadalupe, Nuevo León, the first program of its kind in Mexico. English version separately available here.
The Center for Court Innovation’s youth justice programming includes arts programs, youth courts, and alternative-to-detention programs. These initiatives promote accountability, problem solving, and engagement. This fact sheet describes the Center’s youth programs and the seven key principles that guide them.
Courts can play a crucial role in not only identifying victims of sex trafficking, but linking them to needed services. This guide provides judges and court staff with concrete steps to enhance their ability to respond effectively and sensitively to these difficult cases.
Native American women experience the highest rates of domestic violence, sexual violence and sex trafficking of any group in the United States. Since an effective response requires interagency coordination and informed decision-making, it is imperative that state courts have a working knowledge of tribal justice and that each state court build respectful, collaborative relationships with their tribal justice system colleagues.
This article addresses the variety of ways in which communities have addressed sex trafficking, with the court serving as a centerpiece of several jurisdictions’ responses.
This article addresses the variety of ways in which communities have addressed sex trafficking, with the court serving as a centerpiece of several jurisdictions’ responses.
Publication in the NIJ Journal No. 273 about how police chiefs, public health directors, and researchers are establishing innovative public health/public safety collaborations to fight crime.