APRI Highlights - Fall 2004

NCCP Offers a National Technical Support System for Community Prosecutors

Today, more than ever, prosecutors, as leaders in community safety, are utilizing community prosecution strategies to assist them in their crime prevention, intervention and law enforcement efforts.

NCCP’s fall national training, an Advanced Community Prosecution Workshop (September 28-30, Atlanta, Georgia), provided an opportunity for more than 70 community prosecutors at all experience levels to network and share their knowledge and experience. More than 25 topics and plenary presentations offered something for every participant.

NCCP will soon add three new publications to our Special Topic Series on issues regularly faced by community prosecutors. The following is a summary of these new publications:

From the Courtroom to the Community: Ethics and Liability Issues for the Community Prosecutor

This monograph applies basic ethical principles to potential and actual ethical dilemmas faced by community-based prosecutors, using the Lloyd Business District (Portland, OR) to illustrate examples. These principles address issues such as impartiality, treating similarly situated defendants similarly, due process, liability and immunity, displacement, abuse of limited prosecutorial resources, and political pandering.

Unwelcome Guests: A Community Prosecution Approach to Street-Level Drug Dealing and Prostitution

Community-based prosecution addresses street level prostitution and drug dealing from many fronts simultaneously. This monograph describes promising practices used by community prosecutors in Kalamazoo County (Kalamazoo), MI; Multnomah County (Portland), OR; Marion County (Indianapolis), IN; and Denver, CO. Each jurisdiction provides examples of creative strategies used to reduce and abate these crimes, for example, making changes to the environment to make it less “abuser” friendly, or imposing negative consequences for the suppliers and purchasers of the offending services.

Lessons From the Field: Ten Community Prosecution Leadership Profiles

This monograph provides promising practices of ten jurisdictions designated by the Bureau of Justice Assistance as national leaders in community prosecution: Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Fulton County (Atlanta), GA, Hennepin County (Minneapolis), MN, Kalamazoo County (Kalamazoo) MI, Kings County (Brooklyn), NY, Marion County (Indianapolis), IN, Multnomah County (Portland), OR, Travis County (Austin), TX, and Washington, D.C. Although the communities are different, there are three common components of community prosecution apparent at each site: (1) partnerships with a variety of government agencies and community-based group; (2) use of varied and innovative methods, including problem solving, to address crime and public safety issues; and (3) community involvement.

These monographs will be published in fall 2004, and can also be downloaded, along with our other community prosecution publications, at www.ndaa-apri.org (Click on NCCP in the right column) [Click here to go directly to NCCP Web site]. For assistance, contact the NCCP at communityprosecution@ndaa-apri.org or 703-549-4253.