Community Justice Center
According to Mayor Newsom, "The Community Justice Center is designedto ensure that people in need are connected to services and therequirements of an efficient and rehabilitative justice system."
"The Community Justice Center is smart on crime innovation," saidDistrict Attorney Harris. "The creation of this Center will change theway we deal with low-level, chronic offenders. The immediacy andone-stop location of the new Center will give us the ability to treatthe underlying causes of quality-of-life crimes and make ourcommunities safer."
The Center will provide accountability for lower-level criminalbehavior, and address the root issues associated with this behaviorincluding substance abuse, mental illness or lack of shelter.
Stakeholders are still in discussions about the details of the SanFrancisco Court, but the vision is modeled on the Mid-Town ManhattanCourt in New York City. Under the New York model, offenders picked upfor quality-of-life infractions are immediately taken to the court,where a presiding judge, representatives from the district attorney andpublic defender offices, and an advocate for the homeless and/or poorare waiting.
Once at the center, the offender meets with a defense attorney, hashis or her case reviewed by a district attorney, appears before a judgeand begins receiving services immediately.
A case manager will meet with the offender, determine her mostpressing needs and connect her to psychiatric care, substance abusetreatment and other assistance.
Today, more than 30 cities in the United States have a version of this model and 20 countries are developing their own models.