Community Justice Center
According to Mayor Newsom, "The Community Justice Center is designed to ensure that people in need are connected to services and the requirements of an efficient and rehabilitative justice system."
"The Community Justice Center is smart on crime innovation," said District Attorney Harris. "The creation of this Center will change the way we deal with low-level, chronic offenders. The immediacy and one-stop location of the new Center will give us the ability to treat the underlying causes of quality-of-life crimes and make our communities safer."
The Center will provide accountability for lower-level criminal behavior, and address the root issues associated with this behavior including substance abuse, mental illness or lack of shelter.
Stakeholders are still in discussions about the details of the San Francisco Court, but the vision is modeled on the Mid-Town Manhattan Court in New York City. Under the New York model, offenders picked up for quality-of-life infractions are immediately taken to the court, where a presiding judge, representatives from the district attorney and public defender offices, and an advocate for the homeless and/or poor are waiting.
Once at the center, the offender meets with a defense attorney, has his or her case reviewed by a district attorney, appears before a judge and begins receiving services immediately.
A case manager will meet with the offender, determine her most pressing needs and connect her to psychiatric care, substance abuse treatment 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.