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Community Prosecution Strategies: Measuring Impact banner graphic
by John S. Goldkamp, Cheryl Irons-Guynn, and Doris Weiland
Crime and Justice Research Center

Children riding tricycles.Community prosecution initiatives put into practice the belief that crime problems are best prevented and solved when community members work with prosecutors and the police. As the community prosecution movement grows, it is critical that communities develop the capacity to measure the impact of these programs. This Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) bulletin, which is organized by seven key dimensions shared by community prosecution efforts nationwide, reviews what we have learned about evaluating community prosecution sites.

Generally, community prosecution initiatives deploy prosecutors or, in some jurisdictions, nonlegal staff in the community to identify the public safety concerns of residents and to seek their participation in developing and implementing strategies to address the problems that are the community?s highest priorities. Community prosecution represents a distinct departure from the case and conviction orientation of traditional prosecution. Instead, community prosecution seeks ways to prevent and reduce crime through initiatives that range from cleaning up and maintaining public parks to using civil sanctions to attack nuisance crime.

November 2002


This document was prepared by the Crime and Justice Research Center, under grant number 1999–DD–BX– K008, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

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