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Outreach - Community Court public forums

As part of its feasibility study and needs assessment for developing a Newark Community Court, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, with its partners, the Center for Court Innovation and the Newark Municipal Court, held a series of public forms. The goal of the forums was to engage the Newark community in the model’s development by introducing the concept of Community Court to community leaders and other residents, and then soliciting and incorporating their input.

Community leaders from all five wards in Newark attended an initial presentation on the Community Court concept at the Newark Municipal Court, and some took a bus trip to Red Hook Community Justice Center and spoke with the presiding judge, court personnel and community members who helped establish the Community Court there. These community leaders, in turn, hosted community forums throughout the city, inviting Newark judges and staff from the Center and the Institute to present the concept and then facilitating discussions in both English and Spanish. More than 350 citizens participated in the twenty community dialogues, articulating priorities and concerns that the Community Court planning team has incorporated into its implementation plan. After explaining the concept of problem-solving justice, the planning team primarily sought community input regarding: the criminal activities that occur in their neighborhoods that most concern them; what social service interventions they believe would address the underlying causes of those criminal activities; and what types of community service they would like low level offenders to perform in their neighborhoods as redress for their offenses. Participants identified a number of public safety issues that adversely impact their neighborhoods including drug offenses, theft, vandalism, joyriding and domestic violence and endorsed the idea of visible community-service projects to help restore neighborhoods such as mandatory assistance to community and faith-based service organization. Social service needs that were identified to help reduce recidivism included substance abuse treatment, educational programs, and job-related programs as well as a focus on prevention targeting youth and other at-risk groups to stop crime before it begins.

This community consultation process not only provided invaluable information to the Institute and our planning partners, but also demonstrated Newark residents’ belief that a Newark Community Court could improve safety while providing better outcomes for those affected by the criminal justice system.

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