Building Bridges - Volume I, Number 3, 2001
APRI Launches the National Center for Community Prosecution
Effective June 26, 2001, APRI approved the new title National Center for Community Prosecution (NCCP) for its community prosecution program activities, as requested by the Department of Justice. Formation of the Center represents APRI’s leadership role as the national clearinghouse for the community prosecution movement. Michael R. Kuykendall, former Deputy District Attorney with the Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon District Attorney’s Office, has been named Director of the Center. We are already using the new Center’s title in our publications and correspondence. APRI wishes to congratulate Mike and his staff for exemplary work in this area and for gaining increased DOJ support for community prosecution efforts nationwide. APRI also wishes to thank the DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance for its continued support of our efforts to assist the nation’s prosecutors in developing this new way of doing business.
NCCP has exciting plans for the upcoming year, including:
- the Second National Conference on Community Prosecution;
- symposia on community prosecution and tribal issues;
- site visits around the country;
- developing a video library;
- conducting a comprehensive census of community prosecution programs; and
- ongoing trainings in conjunction with BJA Leadership grantees.
If you would like more information on any of these projects, please contact NCCP.
An APRI Focus Interview: Community Prosecution in Portland, Oregon
Michael D. Schrunk has been the elected District Attorney in Multnomah County, Portland, Oregon since January 1981. In the fall of 1990, he started Portland’s Neighborhood DA Program with one prosecutor assigned full time outside the office; there are presently 9 deputy district attorneys (out of 90) working in the community. The Department of Justice recently named Portland’s Neighborhood DA Program a Leadership Site for the third year in a row due to its on-going efforts in developing a community prosecution model. The new award will enhance Portland’s role in assisting other prosecutor offices with developing their programs. APRI recently interviewed District Attorney Schrunk about his program.
APRI: What have been some of the benefits of moving 9 deputy district attorneys into the community?
DA Schrunk: We have seen a number of things happen. We have seen deputy district attorneys, police, and community people develop creative solutions to community safety problems without using the expensive resources of the criminal justice system. Let me give you a couple of examples.
A public housing project was the source of repeated calls to police because of drug dealing, random shootings, and graffiti—all the signs of a public housing complex in decline. The neighborhood district attorneys met with the residents of the housing complex and the police. They learned that the problems generally stemmed from visitors, not necessarily people that lived in the complex. They worked out an arrangement to give the police the ability to remove people from the common areas if they were not abiding by the posted regulations. The drug dealing soon disappeared, as did the random shootings, graffiti, and, most importantly, the fear. Now, in that particular complex, you find children playing in the common areas and the calls for service are way down.
Another example—several business owners saw all the signs of a drug packaging operation in a neighborhood park. They got together with the police and their Neighborhood DA and developed a plan. It was the classic solution—“let’s prosecute those guys.” The police were going to intensely monitor the area and pick up the suspects. After about a week when no police reports crossed his desk, the Neighborhood DA called the local district officer and asked about the cases. The district officer said the guys packaging the drugs were no longer at the park. When the Neighborhood DA began investigating why the problem disappeared he found that, based on a suggestion from a local businessman at one of the earlier planning meetings, the Park Bureau was watering the lawn at random times. As a result, the drug packaging operation disappeared. No one wanted to sit in wet grass.
Those are some of the successes that can be captured anecdotally. What is hard to capture is the degree of citizen satisfaction. I get feedback from community members all the time about how pleased they are with “their” Neighborhood DA.
We have seen that some solutions require a very coordinated police-prosecutor-citizen response; others seem to take care of themselves when a little ingenuity is used—like watering the park. There are more details and examples on our website.
APRI: Mr. Schrunk, did you see any potential problems in moving a deputy district attorney out of the courthouse and into a neighborhood or commercial district?
DA Schrunk: I did have some concerns about it. My major motivation in moving deputy district attorneys into the neighborhoods had more to do with what I was hearing from community members about what they were not getting from the justice system. When I was elected District Attorney, I thought being successful meant processing cases, making sure that murders, rapes and robberies got taken care of. That always will be an important part of a District Attorney’s job. I call it “Taking Care of Business”.
But the more I talked to neighborhood groups, members of civic organizations and clubs, what I heard from them was “What are you doing about the drug dealer on the corner who keeps one rock of cocaine in his sock?” “What are you doing about the prostitution on Sandy Boulevard?” I knew we were “Taking Care of Business”—putting away the murderers, rapists and robbers—but it became clear that from the community perspective we were not taking care of the small things. It was the small things, the quality-of-life crimes that the community felt strongly about. So it was a logical step to move a Senior Deputy District Attorney into the neighborhood and to tell him to get out there and talk to the business owners and neighborhood residents, find out what they see as problems and talk to the police. Then see what can be done in collaboration with the police and community members to resolve or reduce those community safety concerns. That triumvirate, community members, police, and prosecutor, proved to be a powerful coalition in combating local public safety problems, many of which had been plaguing neighborhoods for years.
APRI: How did you fund the Neighborhood DA Program?
DA Schrunk: Unfortunately, there was no grant money available to fund the Neighborhood DA program in 1990. The term “community prosecution” was not defined; there was no training, technical assistance or financial support available from the Federal Government. Initially, the business community put up funding for our first Neighborhood DA position. We looked at that business support just as we would have viewed a state or federal grant. A local weekly alternative newspaper viewed it differently and did a story about the businesses putting up money to pay for a prosecutor in a commercial district. They put a picture of the DDA on the front page with the headline, “Hired Gun.” The implication was that justice was for sale. Instead of people coming out against the brand new Neighborhood DA Program, county residents called me, not to complain, but because they were impressed with what we were trying to do to combat quality-of-life offenses. They wanted to know if they could have a prosecutor in their neighborhood too.
Over the past 11 years we have received funding and support from a variety of sources: the local Board of County Commissioners, the City, and Tri-Met Transportation to name a few. The Association for Portland Progress, another business association, also contributed. We have also received funding from the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program and from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. My goal has always been to have the entire Neighborhood DA Program operating on County general fund dollars. I am still working toward that goal.
APRI: Do you have any advice for smaller offices that could not afford to move someone into a full time position in the community?
DA Schrunk: I think there is value in making sure deputy district attorneys have community contact. That can come from something as simple as regular attendance at community meetings or spending anywhere from a few hours a week to a few hours a day in a local police precinct. Spending time with citizens and police can broaden their outlook and increase awareness of the importance of community issues. We recommend following the Nike slogan—“Just Do It.” Those who try this are happily surprised with the results.
APRI: Where can people get more information?
DA Schrunk: They can get it from our website, www.co.multnomah.or.us/da/ or by calling our office at 503-988-3162. We are always interested in talking to people about community prosecution.
News in Our Community
The Sacramento County (California) District Attorney’s Office, recent recipient of a Bureau of Justice Assistance Community Prosecution grant award, is teaming with its local C.O.P.S. Regional Community Policing Institute to co-host a regional workshop for prosecutors, community police officers, citizens and others interested in community prosecution and community policing. The workshop will take place September 18-19, 2001 in Sacramento and will provide the participants with the opportunity to learn about creative strategies to solve community problems and how to identify issues of importance when working in the community. For more information on this workshop or how to connect with your local community-policing institute, contact the NCCP at 703-518-4386.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance has selected APRI’s National Center for Community Prosecution as the host for the Second National Conference on Community Prosecution. The conference is tentatively scheduled to be held in the Washington D.C. area in late summer 2002. It will highlight the many successes of community prosecution efforts nationwide and offer prosecutors and others interested in community prosecution the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn how to more effectively prevent crime in their neighborhoods.
Employment Opportunities:
NCCP is seeking a Senior Attorney to provide training and technical assistance for community prosecutors around the country. Senior Attorney responsibilities include: developing training curricula; supervising and conducting multi-disciplinary training; providing legal and technical assistance to practitioners; contributing to legal publications; and working collaboratively with professional organizations and federal, state and local officials. Attorneys seeking this position must have prosecuted for a minimum of 5 years and have significant experience in community prosecution, with demonstrated knowledge in the development and implementation of community-oriented responses to crime and livability issues.
APRI is also seeking a Senior Attorney for the Gun Violence Prevention Program to provide training and technical assistance around the country to prosecutor offices participating in the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative announced by President Bush in May. In addition to the above listed Senior Attorney responsibilities, applicants for this position must have significant experience with the prosecution of firearms-related crimes and demonstrate knowledge of gun prosecution issues.
To apply for either of these positions please contact Heather Coles at APRI at 703-519-1680 or heather.coles@ndaa-apri.org
Contact the National Center for Community Prosecution:
Phone: 703-518-4386
E-Mail: communityprosecution@ndaa-apri.org
Website: http://www.ndaa-apri.org
Staff:
Mike Kuykendall, Director and Senior Attorney
Teresa Ware, Staff Attorney
Roya Hanna, Staff Attorney
Tara Scully, Program Assistant
Heather Fisher, Program Assistant
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