July 22 -- Justice Sector Reform

We started off the morning with a long walk through the streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn. It took about 20 minutes to walk from the nearest Subway station to the Red Hook Community Justice Center (RHCJC), which is located in the heart of Red Hook, a neighborhood long considered to be isolated, impoverished, and full of crime. Here, we were exposed to a new model for justice, which has been working for the neighborhood of Red Hook for the past 8 years.

The Red Hook Community Justice Center is focused on not only having a responsive reaction to criminal offenders, but also incorporates prevention and rehabilitation. This court has only one judge, Judge Alex Calabrese, whose sentences are more likely to include mandatory drug treatment, job training, and community service rather than jail or prison time. The focus is on addressing the underlying problems of crime, rather than on simple punishment and retribution.

This model of Justice has been proven to be successful, for before the inception of the RHCJC, Red Hook was known mainly for its shipping industry, which left the community in the 80s with no jobs, high levels of poverty, high rates of crime, and high rates of drug use. Since the RHCJC was created however, public trust in the area has more than doubled, no homicides have been committed in the last 2 years, and legal professionals from throughout the area praise this model as effective and humanist. Additionally, RHCJC has been able to open up communication between social workers, the police department, the justice sector, and most importantly, the community, in efforts to reduce crime and build long-term commitment to the revitalization of the neighborhood. The Red Hook waterfront is in fact growing, with companies investing in its development and providing jobs for those in the community.

We felt honored and inspired by the work that was being done by all those involved with the Red Hook Community Justice Center, and grateful not only for their hospitality, but also for their commitment to the cause.

After visiting Red Hook, we ventured to the Vera Institute of Justice in Lower Manhattan, a non-profit, non-partisan think-tank that aims to improve social programs being developed for justice and public safety. Here we spoke with Tim Ross about how he is effectively able to carry out the mission and goals of Vera, which include Research, Demonstration programs, and Exportation/Implementation of their successful programs. We admire the fact that Vera works to provide factual, non-biased answers to support social, economic, and political issues.

After speaking with Tim Ross, we were privileged enough to hear from the legendary founder of Vera, Mr. Herb Sturz. All of his life, he has not only been involved with non-profit organizations from New York to South Africa, working on issues surrounding education, economic development, and public security, but he has also worked as Deputy Mayor of NYC, as well as for the New York Times. It was inspiring to hear first-hand that one individual can affect so much positive change in this world. What was especially amazing was the fact that his commitment to human rights and social justice has not yet reached its limit, for Mr. Sturz has recently taken on the task of building the bridge between generations. He is the man behind ReServe, an organization that connects older adults with underserved youth, allowing the older adults to share with and support youth who would otherwise lack mentorship and guidance.

To end the day, we looked forward, as the HIA staff explained to us our upcoming research projects, but we also looked back, as were given the time and space to express our feelings about the program thus far. Personally, we feel very grateful for the opportunity to have our minds (and our bodies) so challenged in such a short period of time. We are especially grateful for all of the speakers who have provided us with insight, perspective, and reflections on such topics that we feel passionate about. We are looking forward to the many more exciting discussions to come!

Amitiés,
Benjamin et Stephanie