Building Bridges - Volume I, Number 1, 2001
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Building Bridges!
Building Bridges is the official newsletter of the APRI Community Prosecution Program. This quarterly newsletter will report on developments in the field of community prosecution, keep prosecutors and law enforcement officers informed about upcoming events, and celebrate the successes and challenges that prosecutors are having with community prosecution programs nationwide.
This year those involved with community prosecution programs have much to celebrate. According to a recent survey by the National Institute of Justice, approximately 49% of all prosecutors' offices now engage in community prosecution. Correspondingly, crime rates are on a downward trend and citizens report feeling significantly safer in their neighborhoods. The Department of Justice awarded $15 million in grants for community prosecution during the past 24 months, and Congress recently approved a bill, that the President signed, appropriating $25 million in grants for FY 2001.
Community prosecution is not merely putting prosecutors into the community to conduct business as usual, or to solve only one type of crime; rather, it is a comprehensive program designed to address livability issues in a target area. By capitalizing on existing resources to deal with low-level offenses that are important to neighborhoods, crime can be reduced and even prevented. The prosecutors office exercises its authority to solve problems, improve public safety and enhance the quality of life in the community. The key to community prosecution is a long-term, proactive partnership among the prosecutor's office, law enforcement, the community and public and private organizations -- hence the title of this newsletter, Building Bridges.
Community-oriented prosecution has become more than just a new "theory" in law enforcement; it is proving to be a promising approach embraced by prosecutors, police and communities alike. The "proof" is that community members, special interest groups, civic associations, businesses, and the faith community are consulting regularly with prosecutors about the problems in their neighborhoods. Consequently, these community members feel a sense of ownership in their community and feel empowered to confront problems as they arise.
APRI, the research, training and technical assistance affiliate of the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), has been involved in defining and advancing community prosecution since the concept was first introduced almost 10 years ago. We are APRI are committed to assisting and promoting the growth of community prosecution programs nationwide through training and technical assistance. To date, APRI has educated hundreds of prosecutors and other allied community-oriented professionals through workshops, symposiums and publications including APRI's Community Prosecution: A Guide for Prosecutors and the Community Prosecution Implementation Manual, which are the definitive guides to implementing community prosecution. The manual can be downloaded from the APRI Community Prosecution Website.
As the program manager and senior attorney from Community Prosecution at APRI and a former neighborhood D.A. in Portland, Oregon, I am proud to introduce the very first issue of Building Bridges. Our goal is to make this newsletter as helpful and informative as possible. The newsletter is sponsored by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. In our efforts to educate and support community prosecutors, the Department of Justice and APRI will use this newsletter as a vehicle to share information on funding, technical assistance and publications about community prosecution. Look for upcoming events and/or workshops, highlights of local programs, ways to network with other community prosecutors, and suggestions for building mentoring relationships with other community prosecutors in your region.
The newsletter's success will depend on YOU! Help us stay current with what is going on in the field of community prosecution. Please send questions, comments, suggestions and/or materials to the Community Prosecution Program at APRI. I look forward to hearing from you.
Michael R. Kuykendall
Program Manager and Senior Attorney
HIGHLIGHT: Marion County's Street Level Advocacy Unit
Prosecuting Attorney Scott Newman's Street Level Advocacy Unit in Marion County, Indiana focuses its energy on improving the quality of life for community members and increasing public safety. The keys to the success of the unit are information sharing, communication, problem solving, and increased access to, and the availability of, neighborhood prosecutors.
Each street level advocate (SLA) is physically located at a police substation. There, the SLA identifies public safety concerns and strategizes with community members and local government to solve those concerns. Prosecutors also screen and file charges in cases presented by district detectives and officers, provide 24 hour assistance to officers and detectives, respond to law enforcement concerns regarding policies of the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, and educate officers on new developments in criminal law.
One of the most successful components of the SLA Unit is the Drug House Eviction Program. Properties that are used for drug activity are identified and targeted as a result of information from law enforcement and community members. The investigator initially works with the absentee landlord to abate the problems, and if these efforts fail, helps secure the eviction of tenants. Another key element to this program is the education of landlords regarding their rights and responsibilities.
The SLAs often help to combine and coordinate the efforts of private businesses, schools, churches, and other governmental agencies in developing solutions to crime-related problems.
Examples of this multi-agency approach are "Quality of Life Sweeps." These sweeps are coordinated by the SLA Unit and target properties that generate complaints of either drug activity, quality of life violations, or both. Teams, comprised of members of the police department, code enforcement, zoning, animal control, housing authority, fire inspectors, probation, and federal agencies, inspect the property for code or other violations. This collaboration has led to a more efficient use of resources by reducing duplicative efforts and sharply focusing attention on one problem.
The Red Zone Patronizing Diversion Program targets "johns" arrested for patronizing prostitutes. The program was suggested by a community member and developed by SLA staff. The program offers first-time offenders arrested in a specified area a chance to avoid a conviction by performing community service in the area where they were arrested. On the day they report for community service, they are first tested for syphilis, then hear from community members who tell them how their crime affects the quality of life of the neighborhood.
To spread the word about community prosecution in Indiana and to encourage information sharing between law enforcement agencies in the state, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, in conjunction with the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office, sponsored a state-wide Prosecutor Network Seminar on October 20, 2000. Topics, chosen from a survey of all of the prosecutors in Indiana, included "Collaborating with Key Players," "Community Prosecution Within the Office," and "Resources and Funding."
One neighbor tells a story that is the SLA Unit's raison d'entre: "Through cooperation with the police department, street level advocates, and neighborhood activists, at least 12 drug houses were closed down, and a consistent message of intolerance to guns and violence was put forth [in that neighborhood]. Today, after many hard months, neighbors sleep all night in a quiet neighborhood, and neighborhood children play and laugh in their yards. The gunfire has stopped, the dealers are not selling on every corner, and our children are not running drugs. We know this won't always be true, but today, there is laughter instead of angry threats on our street."
For more information please call (317) 327-1416.
News in Our Community
- The Office of Justice Programs announced 61 new community prosecution grantees on November 9, 2000. View the press release and the list of grantees on the APRI's community prosecution website under "Recent News Articles." Congratulations to Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado for receiving leadership awards for their outstanding commitment to the development of community prosecution both locally and nationally. For more information on the next federal solicitation for community prosecution, see the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs website at ww.ojp.usdoj.gov.
- The Howard County, Maryland State's Attorney's Office, in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Community Policing Institute, hosted a workshop entitled "Connection: Courtroom to Community -- A Workshop for community Prosecution." It was attended by local district attorneys and community police officers who worked together to learn how to identify community problems, seek out successful solutions, and lead and communicate with local neighborhood associations. For more information on how to connect with your local community-policing institute, please contact APRI at (703) 518-4386.
- APRI's Research Division will be publishing "The State of Community Prosecution: Results of a National Survey" in the Spring 2001 edition of The Prosecutor magazine. This article will reveal what community prosecution means to different people, the types of activities that fall under the community prosecution umbrella, and the different approaches communities are taking.
- In September 2000, the Bureau of Justice Assistance sponsored the first National Conference on Community Prosecution hosted by APRI. The conference brought together prosecutors and law enforcement officers from all over the country to discuss developments in community prosecution. Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder's keynote address was Web-cast live to over 500 prosecutors, and he was presented with the first APRI Community Prosecution Award. A video of Mr. Holder's speech is available at our website.
- Are you interested in sharing your community prosecution experience and skills at the national level? APRI is seeking a senior attorney to provide training and technical assistance to community prosecutors around the country. Contact Heather Coles at APRI for further information. (703) 519-1680 or heather.coles@ndaa-apri.org.
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