What Have We Learned From Evaluations of Community Justice Programs?

Community justice is composed of a variety of initiatives that use various methods for implementing, sustaining, and evaluating programs. Despite the varied nature of community justice programs, evaluations of these initiatives provide collective evidence of positive impacts. For example, evaluations of community policing efforts indicate that community policing can reduce crime and foster partnerships between police and the community. Similarly, evaluations of problem-solving courts, such as drug courts, show better outcomes for offenders in these courts than offenders handled in regular courts.

Evaluations of community justice initiatives suggest the importance of the following key elements:

Access to long-term funding is important to the success of any community justice initiative. Many of these undertakings involve extended supervision of offenders or other sustained efforts over a relatively long period of time.
Partnerships among community-based agencies can help improve the quality and effectiveness of service delivery.
Community justice initiatives offer the opportunity for increased involvement by citizens in the justice system, and for greater accountability of the offender to the community. This increased involvement and accountability can have positive effects for both offenders and the community over the long run.
Substance abuse or other treatment services play a key role in many community justice initiatives. Maintaining good working relationships between program staff and treatment providers helps ensure the delivery of quality services and increased continuity of care.

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