R93-75RESOLUTION NO. R93- 7~
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COM~ISSION OF
THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA,
SUPPORTING, ENDORSING AND REQUESTING THE
CHIEF JUDGE OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL
CIRCUIT TO WORK WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT,
PROSECUTION, THE DEFENSE BAR AND
COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT COMMUNITY BASED
PROSECUTION IS IMPLEMENTED IN THE
FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR
PALM BEACH COUNTY, AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WF~EREAS, the criminal justice system
element to a good prosperous community; and
W~EREAS, the criminal justice system
condition and convicts are spending only
sentence
more; and
in jail and are released
is an essential
is in critical
20-25% of their
to victimize society once
WHEREAS, the criminal justice systems success in dealing
with crime must include organized law enforcement, prosecution
and the community; and
WHEREAS~ the community has become disenfranchised from the
criminal justice system; and
WHEREAS, community based prosecution brings together law
enforcement, prosecution and the community to attack crime in
its midst; and
WHEREAS, the implementation of community based prosecution
requires an administrative order from the judiciary to be
implemented; and
WI4EREAS, the judiciary is an integral element in the
criminal justice system; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA THAT:
Section 1. The City Commission of the City of Boynton
Beach, Florida, does hereby support, endorse and requests the
Chief Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit to work with law
enforcement, prosecution, the defense bar and most importantly
the community to ensure that community based prosecution is
implemented in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm
Beach County.
Section 3. The City Commission of the City of Boynton
Beach, Florida~ hereby directs the City Clerk to forward a
certified copy of this Resolution to the Clerk of the Court for
the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and to the Palm Beach County
Delegation advising them of Boynton Beach's support for
community based prosecution.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this /g day of May, 1993.
ATTEST:
Cit~ Clerk
(Corporate Seal)
CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH,
Mayor
commi~
FLORIDA
~o~6'fi~r'~
Commis sion~-
Sup. CBP
BARRy KRISCHER
STATE ATTORNEY
CO~M~IT~ BA~ED PHOSEC~TIoN
IN
PAL~ BE~CH
401 N. Dixie Plighway, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401-1209
(407~ 355-7100
,STATE A ! .PORNEY
BARRY KRISCHER
February 22, 1993
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael B. Edmondson
(407)355-7249
Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission endorses State
Attorney Barry Krischer,s Community Based Prosecution program.
The Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission today endorsed
State Attorney Barry Krischer's Co~unity Based Prosecution
program. State Attorney Krischer stated, "Th~ iri~i~al Justice
Ccm~,ission~s endorsement sends a message to the criminal justice
system that the public must be included in our war against crlme.
it is only with a con~e_=ed, inclusive effort b~tween law
enforcement, prosecutors and the community that we will have an
impact on the crime which plagues our county daily."
Community Based Prosecution is an innovative approach ~o ~niting
~nd organizing law enforcement, prosecutors and che con, unity in
the war against crime. Community Based Prosecution (CBP) has been
instituted in several areas of the country ranging in demographic
diversity from Montgomery County, Maryland (Rockvi!ie); Kings
County, New York (Brooklyn); Kansas City, Missouri; Tarrant County,
Texas (Austin); Multnomah County, Oregon (Portiand~. Each
uurisdiction applied the program in different ways, Kansas City
selected eight inner-city neighborhoods and focused on drug and
~rug-related charges while Brooklyn organized the entire
]urisdiction ~n=o CBP. the reports from each ~urisdiction have
been uniformly 'good.
in Palm Beach County CBP would require the county's thirty-seven
municipalities and unincorporated areas to be organized into seven
geographic districts and each district assigned to one felony
division of the court. Palm Beach County presently has seven
felony divisions. A "permanent" prosecution team would be assigned
to each district. This would allow the prosecutors, and law
enforcement to become acutely ~ware of specific problems within a
particular geographic area. Mayor Nanc~ Graham has focused the
rounty's attention on the problems of prostitution in the Northwood
secEion of West Palm Beach. CBP would provide a condult for such
problems and the three principle participants :n attacking such
problems would already be working nogether, law enforcement.
prosecu'gors and the communisy.
An iP. tegral elemeu5 of CBP would be monthly meesincs b_ t%.. ._ ~.n law
COMMUNITY PROSECUTION
Whum Charl~ #~oc" Hynes took office ~ Di~ Atrophy in l~u~ of 19~, ~c
~pu~ion of Br~kl~ w~ ~4 milton ~oplc. ~g ~ p~g y~, 821 ~pl~ were
mu~red; 129 c~l~ w~ shot ~fl 47 ~ ~c ~ ~bit~ ell ~ ~c~ of
a ~mm~ ~cg~ ~ ~ S~ problems ~tho '~ b~gcon~g ~g ~c, ~g
~o1~~ ~ ~m~ ~ ~d ~c d~o~ of ~~ ~ ~m~V
Thc N~w York City Poli~ Department ~mplcm~ntcd a community policing progl-~m
wherein officers arc assigned to particular precincts, They arc expected to b~comc f,a~nffiar with
community Icacl¢~s, institutions and or?-~t/ons, by attending meetings, "walking tho be~~ and
pam'~ipatlng in community aaiviti~s. Community policing has b~ a national trend that is
piying off ia increased awar~ess of criminal activity at thc neighborhood l~vcl, improved
polio/community r¢laflolls and an ea'than~:d sellS~ of public ,~faty amun~ ~ornmullity ~ideats.
Distrkt Attorney Hyncs dev¢lop~t a community prosecution program to build on
su~ -,.c~s of New Yorl~s communi~ polic/ng program and to cn. han¢c thc quality ol cas~s
presented to tl~ prosecutor by law cnfor~men! inv~stigatom. ~/mpl~ncnting comrauni~y
prosccutio~ full scale, H).~.cs' office used Ibc CXl~.'riumc~s of two p~lot pro, cas: Operation Four/
Comers m{d a Burglary Task Force. In Operation Four Comers, resources wcr~ concumtracd
in four p~¢cincT, s to targc~ strut robb~..i~ over a five month period. Four precincts wcre ahcscn
to adjust for any 'ballooning' effect of crime. (A sweep of one Seoi~apMcal area w/Il
crime to increase in tl~ adjacumt areas). Thc offum&= arr~s~cdln th~ ol~ration wcm ad~udica:d
sw~ly ~d indicted "wiain 72 hour. Thc.ol~ration r~suk~d in a clccr~as~ of street robberi~ by
$ to :50 p~l~.nt dcpencling on th~ precinct. F_.xl~fic-nccs from a Burglary Task Force indicat~
that by identifying and targetin~ career burgta~, th& incidence o£ burglary couM be significantly
reduced.
Prosecution staff spent ~bout a year collecting data dcpictin§ ~c dCmosraphic makeup
of thc borough, i~cluding ethnic and ra~ial composition, and ~alyzing crime trumds by
neighborhood, particularly pa,~ms of drus related ~nd other serious crim~s. Based on this
~nalysis, thc borou,~'$ 23 police prccinc~ wcrc divided into five zones. Thc zones were
config,red to achieve approximate parity in population, number of felony indictments, number
of serious crimes, volume of drug distribution crime, and elhnic diversity.
As part of the planning process, district attorney staff met with judges o! the Supreme
Court (felony jurisdiction in New York State) and the Le~l Aid ,~ciely (public defendea's). The
District Attorney couvin~.d the judges to assign cases to.35 parts (courtrooms) which parallel
pmsccufiou zones. This change resulted in css~tially "vcrti~l" case haridling from thc time of
arrest todisposition. Cas~s originating in a particular zon~ arc investigated by police in thc local
p~tnct; pr~cutecl by assistant district attom, eys as~ign~l to the zone; and adjudicated in courts
that handle cases from a particular zone,
Although Legal Aid hwye~s do not hn~le ~a~ on a zone basis, they were coasult~
during the plnr~,t Stag~ Of the grojea. As a result of Legal Ald's involven~at, cae zone was
r~¢onfigured to address public defenders' con~ about the racial mix of people arrested
in that particular zone. This change msu!:cd in one zone consisting of two non-conti~ou$
Not all cases are ~aadled by the zone prosecution units or the Supre.m¢ Court p~.
~mai~ng 15 ~t~M~ profil~ ~s, sex ~, or~ni~d c~m~ c~nomi~ ~ ~d
d~i~at~ ~ p~.
Zone pmsecgt, ion were into effect on September 1, 1991. At that time, 5,200 pending
cases were disl~sed of or w~re reassigned to the zone parts. The assistant d/strict attorneys
were assigned to one of five zone units. Each uni~ consists of 20-~ assistant d/s'a-ict attorneys
in~ud~ng 4 or $ senior attorneys. Members of the Distri¢~ Aitornc?s ia~,csfiga.;vc s~af, f
al~o rea.~ed to zou~'uni~s. Thc zone units make up the felony bureau wMch is
by a ChidDeputy I~Ui~ Attorney and two Deputy. Chief Distrlct Attorneys. Ail zone units are
housed in the District Aitorn~y's central office in downtown Brooklyn. The Supreme Court,
wher~ ali felony cases ara h~axd, is locat~ nearby.
District attorney staff looked inW th= possibility of establishing unit offices within each
geographical zone, but have dctcn'nined that it is fiscally imposslblc. Prosecutors would still
have t~ travel to the Supreme Court on a daily basis. The usa of video tcchaology is being
investigated as a way of eliminating some travel from the central office to precinct offices for
investigative conferences.
3
Administrative staff oi thc District Attorney report that thc reorganizatiou met with tittle
re, sba.nee ~ th, assistant district attorneys. F_.fforLs were mad~ to assign prosccuto:$ to thc
zones of thetr choi~. Working with s consistent group of police and pro6ecuto~ has resulted
k, a feeling o1~ e.~r/t d'cor~. Tt~¢ Chief Deputy District Altomey and the Deputy Chief D/stria
Attorneys concentrate on increasing the office's involvement with the community. At the
beginning of the program, the assistant district attot'ncys met with precinct captains and with
community leaders in their assigned zones. These ¢onlacts have resulted in an incr,ascd
willlngllesS'by colnmt~nlty r~sidcnts to assist polic~ and ~tors in identifying and loca~.g
l~l:~{mce with tho Commtmity Pros~tion Program ~ shown tl~ a..~istam oUst:ice
attorneys tend to go to th~ crime sc,,,¢ more fi:qumtly than in tho past. Because r, ach m_it
concentrates on a partiCUlar geograpl~¢ ate~, more control over prosecution cu~ be cccr~is~ by
assistant district attorneys a~d the court calendar mn be managed more efficiently by working
with iud§es handling cases on a zen,' basis.
Based on the sueccs$ of thc ~'on¢ prosecution progr~ra ~r fclmy offcm~, D~tri~
~to~y Hy~ ~ ~g ~e f~%i~ of ~g t~ ~ to ~e ~cm~or
off~ ~ ~L ~c off~s~ mp~ent a
~ci~ho~. ~go:o~ p~on of low l~vcl offe~ ~d
t~t law ,~o~mmt o~s ae ~o~ about i~o~g ~ ~ifi~ of ~ck nei~borhoo~.
Additional p.~utors would be n:q'.Iirtd to expand the program :o include miscl~:meanor
offeas~. For the concur of eommuaity prosrzution to b, cfr:clive,, assistaz~t district attorneys
must spend time becoming invotvcd irt mmmunity activities and organizations. This involvemeat
is in addition to current r¢~ponsibiliti~ of preparing and trying cases.
To increase prosex:utors' [nvolvemmt with the community and the cffcaivcn~ of
community programs, plans are being formul~ed to intcgrat~ thc District Attorney's commm~ity
programs, Legal Lives Partnership (s~e pro* .~.m brief page ~) and Drag Treatment Alternative
to Prison 0YrAP) Pi'ograms. (s~ c~c study pages ~ into th, community pros~:ration
framework. Prosecutors would carry out.thc Legal Lives education p~rogram m the schools within
their zone; would work with DTAP staff to identify and develop treatment resources in each zone;
and would identify and target eligible candidates Rom thc zone for the DTAP program, thus,
increasing the p~ogram's impact on the community.
24
l~o~ morc iF, formation, co~tact:
Jay M. Cohen
Executive AssistaI~! Districl Attorney
210 lorakmon Street
Brooklyn, N~,w York 11201
(TLS) so2-?,ooo
THE
AMERICAN UNIVERSITy
WAfiH[NCTON D.C,
School of Pubflc Affair~
TO: Joseph A. Trotter, Jr.
FROM: Caroline Cooper ¢~
RE= Community Prosecution
DATEs January 12, 1993
Projects Office
3615 Wisconsin Ave., N,W,
Washington, D,0, 20016
(202) 362-4183
FAX~ (2021 362-4867
In response to your request for information on community
prosecution, the following jurisdictions appear to be the most
prominent in the use of communiUy prosecutionl
Brooklyn, New York
Queens County, New York
Tarrant County (Austin), Texas.
Montgomery County, Maryland
Multnomah Co. unty (Portland), Oregon
I have been able to reach prosecutors from some of these
juriSdiCtions who have provided the information summarized below.
As you wilt note~ each of these jurisdictions aPPlies th~ concept
of "communzty prosecution,, differently so, together, t~ provide
a range of approaches that can be considered.
Andrew Sonnet, State,s Attorney for Montgomery Oount~,
Maryland;
~e sees as the overal! goal of community policing and community
prosecution .the development of a partnership between law
enforcement and the c0mmun[ty to improve the quality of justice
and to deve!op more long term anti-crime strategies. While he
doesn't feel a community police program must operate
simultaneously with a community prosecution program, the
effectivenes~ of~these programs can be maximized if they operate
together.
A community police program would break down a large "heat" into
smaller "beats,,, with the police meeting with local community
mroups to understand/respond to their problems and priorities
~om the perspective of identifying the causes of crime and then
!:ying to prevent it. For example, if local community leaders
~el that unemployment or dark passages or littering, etc.,
appear to be contributing to the crime problem, then efforts
would be made to address these problems through all available
resources. "
is also available/accessible to the community to address various
areas of concern. If a crimimal incident does, in fact occur,
however, that case is not assigned to the local deputy unless the
'~ncident represents a special priority being addressed by the
community prosecution program.
The program is considered very effective, providing a lo¢al
contact f and addressing concerns early,
before they problems.
A community polite program is now being developed.
For further information, contactl John Bradley:503/245-3162
Kenneth Holder, Chief of Narcotics Trials, Office of the
District Attorney for Queens Count~, New York,
~stat_As_a _resu}~ ~f _ap~roximate%y $ 2 mill~on in federal~ and
e zunas o~alnea ~y a neighborhood ~n a loo~1 police
precinct, :a ~Law Enforcement Task Force was formed which is a
~ community-driven initiative. The community provides
intelligence/information on narcotics trafficking and other
criminal activity and then develops priority areas for the Task
Force to address. The Task Force then responds to the issues the
community targets. Meetings are held the last Tuesday of each
month to review information from the community and then develop a
strategy for responding to priority problems by mobilizing all
available resources (law enforcement, social service, e~c.). An
example of how the Task Force works which ~. 'Molder cited
involved a house, located across the stree= from a church, and
reputed to be a center for narcotics trafficking. 'After church
members had been intimidated by drug dealers, the problem was
brought before the Task Force which arranged for surveillance,
subsequent warrants, removal of the lone occupant of the house
who, it turne~ out, was too infirm to maintain herself or the
house, and subsequent renovation of the house and area.
Although the court,s involvement is not needed for the program,
Mr. Holder indicated it is important for the Cour= to understand
the program and to unders=and that when criminal cases are
brought from this community, they represent priority concerns and
~hculd not be subject to plea bargaining.
the funds for the program have also permitted hiring a secretary
~nd paralegal from the community to provide and maintain
information on the program. A software program (MAPINFO) provides
tracking of information on arrests, where defendants live, etc.,
~ Office of Substance Abuse)
end who is committing it.
- ~A number of publications describe
sending them.
For further information,
6220.
the program and Mr. Holder ks
contact Ken Holder, 718/286-
]*/11/93
· o: All ~ta£f
~n~oroement Program office C°mmuni%y-based Law
Re~-- - Attached
'~Y auClvi ~lea.se co e a~d Ave ~ty
completed ~. ty that l~s ~-2_~plete this fo g ~_to their
houl~ be reo0~ have any es*' ~as a/read very
~ -~=u, ~i..- gu ylons ac ._ Y been
~ ~= me a call eX 7~7~.wnether an activity
· As. YOU know Andy fully ex e
Assistants in the C
SUpport Staf. f ar- ommunlty-based ~t~ the Part'lcd' ·
unclear a e. encoura __Law Enforc ~at~on of t
s to wha .... .ged to be ..... ement ~r .... he
= cnls lnvolv-. ~? involved .~.~ ~=m. The
-~, reel free t~ ~i~ &= You are
- ~ve me a Call.
some v.-~Om talkin~ ..,~ .
~9 offered, ~..~:~v~ttes hav~ ~_aaye alread,, CT~" Chat
· -,,=~. , =~e currently
I would ask o . .
~ou P=oVi~e.
· nclu ' ~ ~o~ ~ : eftne o he ~n~ .
"" ~-~Pae to Complete['rY helpful' 'I
mOnth%y I Will be giving Andy and th
certain report on the Dfc e Exec
. Z have a
''Thanks~ ~ of a~,, -- uae ~ro~a~ - --.~ccee a
u..~ activities, e
T0: 4~7 355 7267
CO~UNtTY ACTIVITy REPORT FORM
1993
NAME
' .- DATE
TEAM: WHEATON SILVER SPR~NG ROCKVILLE
BETHESDA ' -. ,
-- _, GERMANTOWN, C~'~"~"G.~-~,~- UNIT '"
ADMINISTRATIVE/SUPPORT STAFF' '
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT
ROLL CALL--WI4ICH DISTRICT
DATE
TIME
3. TRAINING
(PLEASE SPECIFY THE TITLE OF TRAINING)
ON-GOING ME~TING OF COMMUNITY GROUP OR ORGANIZATION
NAME OF ' ~
GROUP/ORGANIZATION
MEETINGS ARE: ~ WEEKLY
QUARTERLY, . , OTHER , MONTHLY , BI-, MONTHLY ....
PROBLEM FOCUSED GROUP
BRIEFLY~DESCRiBE T TM ' OB :-- --~' ' - ~I-D V_ -UA
A~ ~ YOU A : WO-L
NG
P. [~
6.~ OTHER
(SPECIFY)
B. ~CAT~F ACTIVITy:
1. SCHOOL
(NAME) -- ~
SHOPPING DISTRICT
(NAME) __
3. COM!~JNTTy CENTER
(NANE)
4. RELIGIOUS/ CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
· ~. OTME~
(SPECIF~) ,
C. PLEASE INDICATE MAJOR PREVENTION STRATEGY(S):
~ D. DO YOU NEED ANY ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OR SUPPORT?
- - YES _ NO
IF "YES" PLEASE SPECIFY
iF THE ACTIVITY IS COMPLETE, EVALUATE T~E OUTCOME (PLEASE
CANDID SO WE CAN LEARN FRoM BOTH SUCCESSES AND MISTAKES)
BE
T~esday, March 23rd, 1993
F. Malcolm Cunningham, Jr., Esquire
Chair, Criminal Justice Commission
Suite 950
222 Lakeview Avenue
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
Dear Mr. Cunningham:
I wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter of March
12th, 1993, with attachments, indicating that the Criminal
Justice Commission has endorsed the State Attorney,s proposal
~to implement community based prosecution in this circuit as a
pilot project.
Inasmuch as the proposal s%e~os to alter the way in
which felony cases are assigned judges in the criminal
division, the court has decided to treat the State Attorney,s
proposal as a petition to amend the Court,s administrative
rules and operating procedures. Upon receipt of a detailed
proposal from the State Attorney, the Court will enter an order
establishing a briefing schedule and setting oral argument
before a multi-judge panel. Interested parties will be invited
to submit briefs and participate in the oral argument.
cc: Hon. Barry Krischer
Hon. Richard L. Jorandby
Joseph R. Atterbury, Esq.
Bar Association Presidents
~. K~~C°rdiall~'~~
Chief Judge
Prosecution program
brings justice home
ommumty Based Proseeuti~
It's a concept that rn~es sen~.
~ ~ aw~, ~.
YOU HAVE THE
I
!
t a~d bec~m,e famlUm,
To ~o1~ the problen~ of our eomm~, let,s ~rln~ th~ pmi~n~
THE PALM BEACH i:~OST MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8. 1993
Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
February 25, 1993
Editorial - Opinion Section
Darry Krischer campaigned
successfully for state attorney by
~ promising to bring better
~ J organization to the justice system
~ in Palm Beach County. Now his
pr~.sed mechanism for fulfilling that
promise has won the qualified approval of
th~ounty's Criminal Justice Cov~mtssion.
l rischer reform looks promising
similar-sized metropolitan areas such as
KMaontgom.ery County, Md.; Brooklyn, N.¥.'
nsas C~ty, Mo.; AUstin, Texas; and Pori'land.
]~pischer wants to organize PaIfn Beach
C0f~. ty's 37 muniei alitins and '
--. P umneorporated
areas into seven geographical districta,
wi[}~ each district to be assigned to a felony
dillon of the court. Judges and
pre~ecutors assigned to that division would
handle only cas6s within their districts.
t~iseber argues that the objective of the
pi'git'is to bring the justice system much closer
to ~e people by allowing judges,
pro~eeutors and police to become more aware
of $~peeifie crime probIems in each area
Th~;three groups would schedule monthly
me,~.tings with community leaders to obtain
loc'gl perspectives on criminal justice issues.
Siinilar plans are eurrentl in fore '
_~ Y e ~n
Ore.
There is one major difference between
several of those areas and Palm Beach
County, however, in that their trial judges
are al~pointed, not elected as hi Palm Beach.
Some local judges and defense attorneys
fear that Kriseher's plan would subject judges
to too much political pressure to be
perceived as "tough on crime" with a view
toward the next election.
That is a pertinent and serious concern
that must be addressed by strict adherence to
the law and a creative information
campaign to educate the public about the
responsibilities and obligations of judges.
The goal most be to insulate them as much as
possible from political considerations.
On balance, the merits of Kriseher's plan
to 'involve the community more productively
in the justice system appear to outweigh
any disadvantages.
Boynton Beach
100 E. Boynton ~eozh Bo~ vard
P.O. Box310
Boynton Bo.P_.h, Fl. orid~ 33425.0310
' City H_o~.- {407) 734.8111
FAX: (407) 738.7459
cERTIFICATION
I, SUZANNE M. KRUSE, CITY CLERK of the City of Boynton Beach,
Florida, do hereby certify that Resolution #R93-75 consistin9
of two (2) pages are true and correct copies, as they appear
the records of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida
(SEAL
/mas
SUZANNE M. KRUSE,
CITY CLERK
MAY 19, 1993
CMC
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