Happy 12th Anniversary to Red Hook!

The Red Hook Community Justice Center first opened its doors twelve years ago today, and in the ensuing years has made some amazing accomplishments:

Reduced Incarceration: The Justice Center has reduced the use of jail in misdemeanor cases by 50 percent.

Accountability: Compliance rates with court orders average 75 percent – a 50 percent improvement on the standard at comparable courts.

Public Trust: Approval ratings of police, prosecutors and judges have increased three‑fold since the Justice Center opened.

Public Support: A door-to-door survey revealed that 94 percent of local residents support the community court. Before the Justice Center opened, only 12 percent of local residents rated local courts favorably.

Reduced Fear: Since 1999, the percentage of Red Hook residents who say they are afraid to go to the parks or subway at night has dropped 42 percent.

Fairness: More than 85 percent of criminal defendants report that their cases were handled fairly by the Justice Center – results that were consistent regardless of defendant background (e.g. race, sex, education) or case outcome.

Click here to read more about research results, including caseload, sentencing, compliance, and other outcomes.

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Supporting the Staten Island Youth Justice Center at "Inside/Outside Legislative Theatre" Performance

On June 4th, a group of the Red Hook Youth Court members and staff went to see the "Theater of the Oppressed NYC" performance at the New School. Before attending this event, the youth court members had no idea that anything like this went on! While there, we learned that 12 different legislative laws were changed through something called "Legislative Theatre." The audience members get to be "spect-actors," which is great because the actual audience members got to participate in the play themselves and share their ideas. The performances last night were put on by members of the Staten Island Youth Justice Center (part of the Center for Court Innovation Family). These two plays dealt with real life issues such as getting stopped for not paying your bus fare, arriving late to school and getting sent to the principal's office because of the "zero tolerance policy," getting into fights at school, not knowing one's rights, and being raciall

Peacemaking in Red Hook

Raymond Deal, Traditional Program Specialist, Shiprock District Court, Navajo Nation and Gloria Benally, Program Coordinator, Navajo Nation, train future Red Hook Peacemakers After an intensely trying period in Red Hook in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy, building, strenghtening, and healing relationships between residents and organizations has become crucial. This past weekend, we took a step towards preparing the neighborhood for the hard work ahead with a two-day workshop with peacemakers from the Navajo Nation for residents we are training to serve as peacemakers here in Red Hook. A new project from the Center for Court Innovation's Tribal Justice Exchange , peacemaking is a traditional Native American approach to justice. While the exact form peacemaking takes varies among tribes, it usually consists of one or more peacemakers—often community elders—who gently guide a conversation involving not only those directly involved in an offense or conflict but family

Rent, Repairs, and Rights: A Guide to Housing Court for NYCHA Tenants

Lillian Marshall, Tenant Association President of Red Hook West (left) and Naureen Rashid, Director of Court Operations Dorothy Shields, Tenant Association President of Red Hook East (Left) and Naureen Rashid, Director of Court Operations Hon. Alex Calabrese, Presiding Judge of the Red Hook Community Justice Center Graphic Designer Jenny Kutnow Clara Amenyo from the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)

Red Hook Justice - Your Community. Your Court.

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