Prosecutorial Services Presented by: Steven Jansen Chief Operating - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

A Framework for High Performance Prosecutorial Services

Presented by:

Steven Jansen

Chief Operating Officer Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Inc.

Robert Hood

Director, Community & Violent Crime Division Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Inc. January 27,2012 APA’s “Final Friday” Webinar Series

Origins of the High Performance Prosecution Model

• Harvard Executive Sessions of 1985-1989 identifies five
• rganizational strategies of prosecutor’s offices
• Late 20th Century paradigm shift leads to the emergence
• f community prosecution
• DOJ sponsored work groups of 1993-1995 define

community prosecution and its nine key components

• CPAC confirms the definition of community prosecution

& identifies its four key principles

• Two DOJ/APA/CCI sponsored prosecutor roundtables

identify the four components of the High Performance Prosecution model

The Five Organizational Strategies of Prosecutor’s Offices

Organizational Strategy Goals Pure Jurist (case processor) Efficient & equitable case processing Sanction Setter Rehabilitation, retribution, and deterrence Problem Solver Prevent & control crime Strategic Investor Bolstor prosecutorial efficacy by adding capabilities Institution Builder Restore social institutions that help control crime

Tumin, Zachary, Harvard University Executive Session for State and Local Prosecutors, 1990.

Components of the The High Performance Prosecution Model

To deliver high performance prosecution services to their communities, Prosecutor’s Offices should be:

1) Embracing Community Prosecution 2) Harnessing Science and Technology 3) Implementing Information Sharing 4) Employing Outcome Evaluation

Purpose of the Model

• Although trial advocacy is at the core of the

prosecutorial function, the High Performance Prosecution Model identifies four additional components that prosecutors should examine beyond trial advocacy to ensure their offices are delivering high performance prosecutorial services.

Embracing Community Prosecution

• A high performance office embraces

community prosecution and uses its strategies to prevent crime while reducing incarceration, promote the successful reentry of ex-

• ffenders into the community, engage in

restorative justice, address more serious crime as well as “quality of life” problems, and respond quickly to ever-changing conditions.

Definition of Community Prosecution

“Community prosecution focuses on targeted areas and involves a long-term, proactive partnership among the prosecutor’s office, law enforcement, the community, and public and private organizations, whereby the authority of the prosecutor’s office is used to solve problems, improve public safety, and enhance the quality of life in the community.”

APRI/BJA Community Prosecution Focus Group, 1995

The Four Key Principles

• f Community Prosecution
• Recognizing the Community’s Role in

Public Safety

• Engaging in Problem Solving
• Establishing and Maintaining Partnerships
• Evaluating Outcomes of Activities

Community Prosecution Leaders,2008

Example: Kings County District Attorney’s Office

• One of the nation’s first community prosecution

sites, it began in 1990 utilizing zone prosecution and verticalization

• Focused on addressing quality-of-life offenses,

reducing recidivism, increasing public confidence, and strengthening community relationships

• It supported the creation of the Redhook Justice

Center, a drug court; a mental health court; and juvenile, adult, and felony domestic violence courts; and deferred sentencing programs

Example: Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office

• One of the nation’s first community prosecution

sites, its Neighborhood DA program began in 1990 and eventually expanded citywide

• Used problem solving to address quality of life

crimes, drug offenses, and nuisance properties

• Program help support the development of a

mental health court, a community court, and a drug court

Example: Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office

• Opened its community prosecution program in

2002 utilizing an integrated zone prosecution strategy

• Its community prosecutors focused on creating

crime prevention strategies, prosecuting violent criminals, and community engagement

• Program supported the development of a drug

court, community conferencing, and the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission

Example: Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office

• November 1, 2010 DA’s office launched

community-based zone prosecution model

• Prosecution teams correspond to the Police

Department’s six detective divisions

• Established Community Actions Centers

– Northwest Community Action Center – Northern Liberties Community Action Center

Harnessing Science and Technology

• A high performance office harnesses the latest

advancements in science and technology and uses them as crime fighting tools and evidence in the courtroom, while insisting upon and insuring the integrity of such evidence so that justice is rendered.

Example: The Denver DA’s DNA Burglary Project

• Uses advanced DNA technology to identify and

prosecute burglary and property crimes by recovering biological evidence at crime scenes and identifying perpetrators through their DNA

• Of the DNA samples entered into CODIS from the

Denver Burglary Project, 58% have found matches resulting in over 95 prolific burglars being successfully prosecuted

• Burglaries have fallen over 28%

Implementing Information Sharing

• A high performance office implements new

technologies to improve data collection and analysis, share information with other agencies and the public, and ensure that decision-making is driven by data.

Example: Data Sharing-SEAJIS

• City Attorney Tom Carr’s executive sponsorship of

the SEAJIS Program from 2002-2009

• SEAJIS is a long-term, multi-agency, data-

integration system that enables, real-time data- sharing between Seattle’s key CJS partners

• Using data-sharing “middleware,” it allows RMS

systems to share case outcomes, warrant and court conditions, case scheduling, and other critical data across CJS system partners in a more timely, accurate, and non-duplicative manner

Example: Data Analysis

• In Rockland Co. NY, DA Tom Zugibe developed

Intelligence-led Community Policing, Community Prosecution and Community Partnerships (IL3CP).

• IL3CP focuses on information sharing and data

analysis between key criminal justice partners. Each week, IL3CP sessions are held in a different sector.

• These meetings are used to identify/problem-solve

police and community concerns using intelligence that has been gathered and analyzed.

• Code 6 Program focuses on the small number of

criminals who commit a majority of the crimes and create most of the problems for the community.

Employing Outcome Evaluation

• A high performance office recognizes the

value of outcome evaluation and employs it to gauge and improve the effectiveness of its crime prevention and reduction efforts.

Example: ComALERT Evaluation

• In Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes

created ComALERT, a collaborative re-entry program addressing the complex needs of formerly jailed offenders. Partnering with an outpatient substance abuse treatment provider, a non-profit transitional work and housing agency, and over a dozen other community-based social services, ComALERT delivers intensive treatment & services.

• A program evaluation by Professor Bruce Western
• f Harvard University found that it slashed

recidivism rates of parolees, greatly improved rates

• f gainful employment, and modestly reduced self-

reported rates of drug and alcohol consumption.

Challenges to Embracing the Model

• Traditional challenges: Recruiting, hiring, and

training new staff; dealing with challenging geographies; and serving diverse populations.

• Current challenges: economic constrictions

and resulting budget cuts and layoffs; difficulties of covering both traditional and new roles; altering internal office and community culture; and political impatience.

APA 2012 Work Plan Includes

• Presenting future webinars on the components
• f the High Performance Prosecution Model.
• Developing a training curriculum to teach it.
• Highlighting and teaching the model at the 7th

National Community Prosecution Conference.

• Developing articles on it for the CP Newsletter.
• Providing materials about it on our website.
• Doing targeted technical assistance to offices

trying to implement components of the model.

• Holding future prosecution roundtables and

producing future monographs.

For more Information

Email us at

Steven.Jansen@apainc.org Robert.Hood@apainc.org

Go to our website at:

Apainc.org

Or call us at: 202-861-2480

NOTICE OF FEDERAL FUNDING & FEDERAL DISCLAIMER

This project was supported by Grant No. 2011-DP-BX-K051 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the SMART Office, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view

• r opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent the
• fficial position or policies of the United States Department of Justice.