NCJ Number
237983
Date Published
2009
Length
287 pages
Annotation
This book presents the findings and recommendations from a 3-year observational study of problem solving courts, which are "judge-run programs in general-jurisdiction courts that facilitate long-term behavioral and attitudinal change among participants and their communities."
Abstract
Part I contains four chapters that "set the stage" for understanding the purpose and procedures of problem solving courts (PSCs). The chapters consider the difficulty of delivering appropriate punishment in complex, contemporary societies; the purposes and promises of criminal law and criminal justice that require constant experimentation with new solutions for persistent social problems; the components of PSC programs and how they can facilitate changes in individuals' life chances while reducing the risk of criminal behavior; and how Shakespearian plays can help in understanding why some problems persist. Part II contains four chapters on "Courts, Prisons, and Communities." A chapter on "blended social institutions" considers how hospitals and treatment centers can be like prisons, and how prisons can be like hospitals, as both institutions seek to address the harms that human nature brings to individuals and communities. Consideration of how PSCs provide a distinctive approach to problematic human behaviors focuses on how three PSC programs that serve a single Midwestern city are addressing individual and community problems simultaneously. One chapter features the types of support - emotional, informational, and tangible - that PSC participants receive through social-control mechanisms that come from the PSC. Part III contains four chapters that address "Performances and Transformations" that occur in and through PSCs. The chapters describe and illustrate PSCs' efforts to address each participant's unique circumstances through the court personnel's efforts under the supervision of the judge. The PSC's ultimate goal is to reduce the probability of repeated criminal acts by those who have been arrested or convicted, thereby increasing public safety. Approximately 470 references, a subject index, and appended biographical sketches of mentioned PSC participants and sample PSC materials