In September 2005, the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice funded ten demonstration projects under its new Community-Based Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative. The following edited excerpt was taken from South Carolina’s winning proposal.
For its problem-solving initiative, the 4th Judicial Circuit of South Carolina proposes to implement a coordinated, comprehensive, system-wide problem-solving initiative in four counties. The initiative will target offenders ages 17-30 arrested for drug and drug-related charges.
The goals of the initiative include (1) engaging the community in defining issues of concern to be addressed; (2) reducing recidivism among offenders entering pretrial diversion; and (3) strengthening the resources available to the judiciary for cases that require adjudication and supervision.
The initiative will be piloted first in Chesterfield County, and then expanded to the other three counties: Darlington, Dillon, and Marlboro. Community forums will be convened to engage community residents and key stakeholders. A part-time Assistant Solicitor will be hired to reduce the time from arrest to entry into the pretrial diversion or adjudication track. Screening, assessment, monitoring and supervision of offenders will be enhanced in both tracks. In the adjudication track, the intensity of monitoring and supervision, and whether participants are diverted to a community process or supervised by the judge through status hearings, will be dependent on the offender’s current charge, criminal background, treatment history, and current assessment. Sanctions and incentives will be used throughout the system to encourage progress and achieve compliance.