Soc 326 – Chap 14 The “new community focus” -- focuses on communities/neighborhoods focuses on communities/neighborhoods Note: remember the Consumer Union report on drugs (“Licit and Illicit”) 30 years ago they urged treating illegal drug use as local -- rather than the disastrous national approach.

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What are the five principles of the “new community focus”?  Combined theoretical approaches  Focus on high crime locales  Partnerships among agencies  Improving services – “quality of life”  Evidence-based evaluation

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What does Walker set as the goals of this chapter (especially skepticism)?  Look at community focus across the CJS  Skepticism (evidence, and continuity, esp. funding) (evidence, and continuity, esp. funding)

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What is “collective efficacy”? Neighborhood organization and interaction --- plus “trust” in the police and CJS overall. “mediates the impact of environmental factors” poverty, deterioration, etc. poverty, deterioration, etc.

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What empirical evidence (research) supports these new approaches? Research, where residents showed more CE -- crime, violence, and domestic violence rates were lower. (research mainly in poorer neighborhoods)

Soc 326 – Chap 14 How is “Operation Ceasefire” in Boston an example of the basic paradigm of this approach and what are the five elements that this program incorporated? “Combined all the elements of commun focus” Boston decreases in violent crime were larger than national/regional decreases

Soc 326 – Chap 14 Why is this an example of community policing and POP (problem oriented policing)? Involved focus on particular problems, and partnerships among community agencies

Soc 326 – Chap 14 How did the POP program in Jersey City work? Also involved focus and partnerships

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What are the 3 “unanswered questions” about these approaches?  The “fad” problem – continuity and funding  Dependent on federal funding  Shift of attention (terrorism, security)

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What is community prosecution? Community focus and alternatives to jail/prison for less serious offenses What are Walker’s 3 issues with this?

Soc 326 – Chap 14 Evaluation – some apparent successes But: But: 1. Directed at less serious crimes 2. No proven impact on serious crime 3. Is it just a return to probation?

Soc 326 – Chap 14 Why is “offender reentry” (from prison) so important? What are the main problems? Huge numbers of returning prisoners into “already fragile” (poor) neighborhoods (reentries now more than 700,000 a year) (reentries now more than 700,000 a year) New re-entry programs based on community focus – locally focused

Soc 326 – Chap 14 A Closer Look... Poor, young, minority, males returning to poor neighborhoods (often not their old n-hoods) Most did pre-release programs, but ineffective Family help most important to staying out.

Soc 326 – Chap 14 Major health probs, no access to health care No friends - or ex-con friends Unemployable, no help from parole officers “ Losers” + prison!! “ Losers” + prison!!

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What are Joan Petersilia’s 4 recommendations for reentry programs?  Prison-based rehab (prison industries?)  Return to discretionary parole  “Frontload” post-release services  Eliminate restrictions on ex-cons

Soc 326 – Chap 14 Note: Summary is important. The paleologic of punishment No “exit strategy”

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What is “proactive parole supervision” and why is it unlikely to work? Help rather than just monitoring But help is typically token, not realistic

Soc 326 – Chap 14 What is “restorative justice” and why is it unlikely to reduce serious crime? Informal social control, restitution, community service, etc. Essentially “doing nothing” re petty offenders -- but unlikely to reduce serious crime

Soc 326 – Chap 14 Walker’s conclusions  Community policing (if sustainable) can help to lower serious crime. to lower serious crime.  Community prosecution is a good approach to petty crime, but doesn’t address serious crime. petty crime, but doesn’t address serious crime.  Offender reentry programs don’t work.

Soc 326 – Chap 14 Comment: The problems are really political problems -- the “demonization” of poor people and petty criminals by politicians, media, and the public.