Problem-Solving Justice

Problem-solving justice seeks to go beyond processing cases to solve the problems that bring people to court.

Problem-solving courts, such as drug and mental health courts, work to engage the community in addressing the underlying conditions that fuel crime. Today, thousands of such courts are testing new approaches to difficult cases where social, human, and legal problems intersect. But along with these individual courts, problem-solving justice is also about taking the approach to scale.

Embedded in centralized courthouses, for example, our Bronx Community Solutions, Brooklyn Justice Initiatives, and Newark Community Solutions each handle thousands of cases per year, offering services and community-based alternatives to jail and fines. Through our work implementing these ambitious projects, we offer a range of customized training and technical assistance plans and publications for jurisdictions interested in applying problem-solving justice principles in centralized courthouses.

Initiatives

Bronx Community Solutions

Bronx Community Solutions applies a problem-solving approach to cases in the Bronx centralized criminal court, providing judges with community-based alternatives to jail and fines.
Brooklyn Justice Initiatives

Brooklyn Justice Initiatives seeks to improve how the centralized criminal court in Brooklyn responds to misdemeanor and felony cases.
Newark Community Solutions

Newark Community Solutions applies a problem-solving approach to low-level cases in Newark, New Jersey’s municipal courthouse.
Statewide Strategic Planning for Problem-Solving Courts

We provide thoughtful planning and coordination for problem-solving courts to ensure best practices and the best possible outcomes.

Publications & Digital Media

Video
'They Treated Me Like a Person': Inside the Red Hook Community Justice Center

The Red Hook Community Justice Center has become an international model of justice reform by implementing innovative strategies that have reduced the use of jail, lowered recidivism and strengthened public confidence in justice. This short film about the Justice Center produced by the Center for Court Innovation was selected as a 2016 finalist in the TV/Video category of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency's Media for A Just Society Awards.

Community Justice, Problem-Solving Justice
Publication
A Community Court Grows in Brooklyn: A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Red Hook Community Justice Center (Full Report)

by Cynthia G. Lee, Fred L. Cheesman II, David Rottman, Rachel Swaner, Suvi Hynynen Lambson, Michael Rempel, and Ric Curtis

With funding from the National Institute of Justice, the National Center for State Courts completed this independent evaluation of the Red Hook Community Justice Center in 2013. The evaluation found that the Justice Center's emphasis on alternatives to incarceration, including community restitution projects and social services, helped reduce the use of jail even as it helped reduce recidivism among misdemeanor offenders.

Community Justice, Problem-Solving Justice
Video
Transforming Lives: The Brooklyn Mental Health Court

The Brooklyn Mental Health Court represents the Center for Court Innovation's commitment to offering treatment rather than incarceration to people with mental illness who have been convicted of a crime. In 2019, the court commemorated the graduation of its thousandth successful participant.

Problem-Solving Justice, Rethinking Incarceration, Treatment Courts

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We work with reformers around the world.

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Initiatives

Publications & Digital Media

'They Treated Me Like a Person': Inside the Red Hook Community Justice Center

A Community Court Grows in Brooklyn: A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Red Hook Community Justice Center (Full Report)

Transforming Lives: The Brooklyn Mental Health Court

We work with reformers around the world.