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.
In this New Thinking podcast, Raymond H. Brescia, associate professor of Law at Albany Law School, speaks with Aubrey Fox and Robert V. Wolf of the Center for Court Innovation about the role lawyers can play in addressing poverty and eviction, why New York City has been dramatically expanding funding to provide lawyers to respondents in Housing Court, debt collection cases as the next great issue for public interest attorneys, and how a good lawyer is like a patronus from a Harry Potter book.
The Red Hook Community Justice Center serves as a hub for an array of unconventional programs. This video highlights the unique and multi-faceted roles that the Justice Center plays in the lives of its community members. The common thread is that the Justice Center is changing lives every day.
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.
In partnership with the New York City Police Department, the 2015-16 Youth Justice Board created this short video to increase understanding, cooperation, and trust between law enforcement and youth, and promote stronger police-community relationships.
Dannel P. Malloy, the governor of Connecticut, was the keynote speaker at Justice Innovations in Times of Change, a summit sponsored by the Center for Court Innovation and the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance in September 2016. The governor spoke about reforms under way in his state that have raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18, reduced the use of incarceration, and lowered crime to levels not seen since the 1960s.
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.
In this New Thinking podcast, Ann Johnson, an assistant district attorney and the human trafficking section chief with the Harris County District Attorney's Office, discusses her office's strategies for combating human trafficking, including increased enforcement against traffickers and buyers, and diversion from prosecution for victims. One of the office's diversion program, SAFE Court, gives those ages 17 to 25 who are charged with prostitution the opportunity to clear the charge from their criminal records by completing a yearlong program of monitoring and social services.
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.
Tshaka Barrows, deputy director of the Burns Institute, discusses his organization's collaborative and community-centered approach to addressing and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system. Barrows spoke with Robert V. Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation, after participating in a panel on Race and Procedural Justice at Justice Innovations in Times of Change.