PCE Videos: Bringing in the Community – Prosecutors Evolving Use of Community Advisory Boards

On March 10, 2022, the PCE Pop-Up focused on Prosecutors Evolving Use of Community Advisory Boards.

On January 11, 2021, PCE hosted a Pop-Up discussion on community engagement with presentations on connection, outreach and re-entry, creating a community advisory board, and moving cases out of the criminal justice system.

In November 2020, the National Black Prosecutors Association in collaboration with PCE and other partners hosted a four-hour training that examined biases in the criminal justice system, using scientific data and case studies. Approximately 300 participants were provided with actionable strategies to bring about a more equitable justice system and to maintain the integrity of the legal system.

Ramsey County (MN) Attorney John Choi and Lucy Lang, former Director of the Institute for Innovation (IIP) in Prosecution, discuss an officer-involved fatalities toolkit spearheaded by IIP. 

Watch here. (26 minutes)

Social isolation isn’t stopping the Nassau DA’s office from connecting to their community. See how they’re virtually reaching out more than ever.

Newsletters and Annual Reports

One way prosecutors can get the word out about what they do and how they serve their communities is through newsletters and annual reports. Here are a few examples from prosecutors around the country.

Authors: PCE and National Black Prosecutors Association

As we know, prosecutors must be fact-based and fair in the pursuit of justice. Prosecutors cannot base their judgements on whim, bias or hunches. Studies have shown that all people have implicit biases that could influence their decisions. Training can help prosecutors to understand this issue and provide strategies for assuring that prosecutorial decisions are based on the facts and not predisposed by irrelevant implicit biases.

One of the many benefits of being part of the Best Practices network is the ability to share information with prosecutors across the country about promising programs and how to implement them. Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence (PCE) held a two-day conference in Boston on July 19 and 20, 2016 with prosecutors from 17 states in attendance. One topic was how to create community programs on a shoe string.

Here is a sampling of the varied – and excellent – programs highlighted during the meeting:

June 30, 2016 — Volume 15

There has been great scrutiny of police-involved fatalities and how they are handled by prosecutors. Here are four thoughtful approaches by prosecutors on how they have reported their findings when no criminal charges are brought (in alphabetical order by jurisdiction). Three articles on this subject are also included.

Author(s): Hamann, Greenberg-Chao

Prosecutors have a core mission to protect the community and ensure justice when enforcing the law. Traditionally, a prosecutor’s role was a limited and relatively passive one – to evaluate and prosecute arrests made by the police But over the last forty years, there has been a dramatic transformation and expansion of prosecutors’ mission, to not only vigorously prosecute criminal cases, but also to engage in crime prevention, problem solving and community partnerships.