Thousands of problem-solving courts are testing new approaches to difficult cases where social, human and legal problems intersect. In recent years, many in the field have sought to "go to scale" with problem-solving justice, testing key problem-solving principles outside of the specialized court context. The Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice funded ten demonstration projects around the U.S. in support of this effort. Below are links to resources to help practitioners interested in applying problem-solving techniques more widely at the local level.

Problem-Solving Principles

Fact Sheets and Self-Assessment Tools

• Problem-Solving Justice in the United States: Common Principles
• Using Data to Build Your Program
• Engaging Stakeholders in Your Project
• Publicizing Your Program and Its Successes
• Finding the Resources to Help Your Program Thrive
• Planning Checklist
• Mapping Community Resources
• Using Diversion as Part of a Problem-Solving Strategy
• Developing a Community Service Protocol
• Evaluating Your Program

• Expanding the Use of Problem Solving: The U.S. Department of Justice’s Community-Based Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative
• Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: Lessons from Problem-Solving Courts
• Principles of Problem-Solving Justice


A community event at Bronx Community Solutions in New York.

Theron Bowman has been chief of the Arlington Police Department since 1999. In January 2007, he participated in a roundtable, assembled by the Center for Court Innovation and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, to discuss failure and innovation in criminal justice, a transcript was published in the first issue of the Journal of Court Innovation. In June 2007, he spoke with the Center further about how he encourages innovation in Arlington.


Chief Bowman at the "Failure Roundtable" held in the Center for Court Innovation's
New York office in January 2007

Q: It sounds like you do a lot of experimenting with new ideas. How do you create an environment that welcomes experimentation?
You have to engrain this philosophy into the culture of the organization, until it becomes who you are. We have a fairly elaborate awards and recognition system where we recognize desirable behavior. We make a big deal when employees engage in innovations, and make sure that everybody knows about them. We have throughout the city what we call the BEST program that challenges employees to create new ways of becoming more efficient and more effective, and though the BEST program selected projects receive some sort of monetary or gift award at the city level. So we reward good behavior, we talk about it every time we get the opportunity to put it in front of employees, and we encourage innovations. Employees know that innovation is good and that mistakes are sometimes inevitable.

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