Justice agencies - police, probation, parole, corrections and courts - seldom share information with each other even in the same town or city - let alone between their state and federal counterparts. This lack of shared information is compounded by the reluctance of social services and schools to involve the justice agencies in advance of crime, to give them all a chance to intervene early. Establishing a system of communication between justice agencies, schools, and local community organizations is a proven method for increasing success in preventing youth violence.

The testimony of the youth in "The Limits of Justice" confirms what criminologists have long known but politicians and the media ignore - most young people, especially in deprived areas, are not "predators". More often they are victims, living in constant danger of attack from each other. Courts and police recognize that fear drives youth that would otherwise be law-abiding citizens to carry weapons for self-defense. Easy access to guns has turned what used to be fist fighting into lethal tragedies.

The Boston effort to reduce youth homicides demonstrates the value of collaborating among justice agencies and other partners in the community. Because only a small percentage of crimes are actually punished in court, Boston's comprehensive effort to spot youth at risk of serious offending, stands a chance of preventing crime and victims.

COMMUNITY BASED JUVENILE JUSTICE

Video Introduction: "In a radical departure from tradition, principals from Boston's schools meet regularly with justice officials and social workers. They share information in order to intervene effectively at the first sign of trouble."

Community Based Juvenile Justice is a coalition of schools, police, probation, and parole that meets twice a month to share information about youth at risk. These meetings are a regular forum for school principals to brief police officers about students who bring weapons to school; or for police to refer troubled kids to social services; or for a counselor to keep abreast of a youth's situation in a legal proceeding. This approach enables the community to address a youth's needs from several angles at the same time.

Contact:
Jim Borghesani, External Affairs
Suffolk County District Attorney's Office
55 Court Street, 3rd Street
Boston, MA 02018
(617) 715-8617
(617) 227-5202 Fax
website: http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/da/suffolk

OPERATION CEASEFIRE

Video Introduction: "A coalition of law enforcement and social agency officials who inform high-risk juveniles of the ramifications of criminal behavior, Cease Fire has been credited by many with helping to stop the wave of juvenile homicide in the city of Boston."

Operation Ceasefire is a citywide collaborative effort to inform youth of the dangers and consequences of criminal behavior, and in particular, owning and using a gun. The program brings police officers, probation officers, Streetworkers, and District Attorneys into high school classrooms to speak about the risks of violence, and how to stop bloodshed on the streets. The program also effectively reduces Boston's gun supply by tracking every weapon seized by the police from gang members.

Contact:
Office of Strategic Planning and Resource Development
Boston Police Department
One Schroeder Plaza
Boston, MA 02120
(617) 343-5096

OPERATION NIGHTLIGHT

Video Introduction: "A collaborative effort that teams Boston probation and police officers to enforce the terms of probation for adjudicated youth, Operation Nightlight puts teeth into the probation system and lets juvenile offenders know that the city means business."

Probation officers are given the least amount of resources in comparison with police or prisons, yet have one of the hardest tasks - to enforce court imposed conditions on offenders who spend their time in the same conditions that led them into crime. In a rare collaboration, Operation Nightlight teams up probation officers with the Boston police in order to enforce more effectively the terms of probation. This arrangement pools their respective legal powers and knowledge. By hitting the streets with police, probation officers also gain first-hand knowledge about the lives of their probationers that can help them address the roots of delinquent behavior.

Operation Nightlight utilizes the probation department's powers to enter and search their clients' homes without a warrant. This has raised civil rights concerns, which have been tested unsuccessfully in court.

Operation Nightlight has increased the compliance of court-ordered curfews by youth probationers from one-third to two thirds. This increased success rate has given confidence to the courts that their sentences will be enforced.

Contact:
Bernard Fitzgerald, Chief of Probation
Bill Stewart, Assistant Chief of Probation
Dorchester District Court
510 Washington Street
Dorchester, MA 02124
(617) 288-9500

Dr. Ronald Corbett, Deputy Commissioner
Massachusetts Probation Department
Office of Commissioner of Probation
One Ashburton Place, Room 405
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 727-5348
Fax (617) 727-2199