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IPI
16.825
Goal(s): The purpose of the Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) for Combating Violent Crime Program is to provide state, local, and tribal prosecutors with resources to reduce crime and increase public safety. The program encourages prosecutors and agencies to use data in the development of their strategies and programs and to develop effective, economical, and innovative responses to crime within their jurisdictions. Objective(s): IPS programs test data-driven approaches that address one or more of the objectives listed below. Successful applicants will work closely with BJA staff to assist prosecutorial agencies in incorporating innovative or evidence-based prosecution strategies as a fundamental component of their effort to ensure public safety. Required Objectives: • Test, establish, and/or expand programming that enhances prosecutors’ ability to effectively and sustainably prevent and respond to crime, especially violent crime, which could include the hiring of new prosecutors. • Foster effective, formalized, and consistent collaborations with external agencies, and the communities they serve, to increase public safety. • Use technology, intelligence, and data in innovative ways that enable prosecutors’ offices to focus resources on the people and places associated with high concentrations of crime and to allow state and local prosecutors’ offices to improve their operations in an effort to more efficiently and effectively aid communities in achieving a reduction in crime. • Enable prosecutors’ offices to reduce caseloads to manageable levels through office modernization, hiring analytical or support staff, and updating information technology. Performance Measure 1: Number of prosecution personnel hired with grant funds; and, Performance Measure 2: Number of new prosecution technology solutions implemented with grant funds.
This chart shows obligations for the program by fiscal year. All data for this chart was provided by the
administering agency and sourced from SAM.gov, USASpending.gov, and Treasury.gov.
For more information on each of these data sources, please see the
About the data page.
Kings County District Attorney’s Office (Brooklyn) PROJECT: The Brooklyn Young Adult Justice Initiative
As of June 23, the site reports 1,781 open cases pending in the Adolescent Diversion Court, which offers diversion instead of prosecution for young adults, 16-24 years old, charged with misdemeanor offenses, who are at the greatest risk for re-offending and/or are facing more serious criminal consequences.
Two Assistant District Attorneys joined the Bureau since June, bringing the total number of prosecutors in the unit up to five.
San Diego City Attorney’s Office PROJECT: The Community Justice Initiative (CJI)
CJI uses data and evidence-based practices to restore justice and increase effectiveness and efficiency through a post-plea, city-wide diversion initiative to provide accountability, early intervention, and swift consequences for participants charged with eligible misdemeanor offenses.
As of June 30, the site reports that: 3,943 offers made; 2,650 offers accepted; 1,293 offers rejected; 2,048 offers completed; and 423 participants failed out of the program. These numbers reflect enrollment since November 2016. The site has also completed 224 CJI Proxy Risk Screenings and 61 CJI assessments.
The site received its software platform/kiosk for client screening. The kiosks will electronically administer the proxy screen to determine high, medium, or low risk scores for program participants (a case manager previously conducted the risk assessment). The site is working with the courthouse for installation, and expects the kiosks to be up and running by September. The site is also building new software for the kiosks.
District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General PROJECT: Using Our Brains: Reducing Recidivism among Youth and Young Adults
The site is furthering collaboration with the DC US Attorney’s Office (USAO). Both offices plan to develop a diversion-based initiative, using restorative justice, for youth (ages 12-17) and young adults (ages 18-24) who commit certain crimes, such as theft, destruction of property and non-injury simple assault cases with victim consent. The team is evaluating USAO data for program development.
The site hired a restorative justice coordinator and two facilitators who will staff their restorative justice panels. The site team, partners, and office staff will receive ongoing support and assistance for program implementation and restorative justice training from the Baltimore Community Conferencing Center.
Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office (Kansas City) PROJECT: Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office Smart Prosecution Initiative
The site’s geographic-based initiative targets the “East Zone,” the most violent area within Kansas City. Team members will collaborate with law enforcement, community partnership specialists, and community members to assess crime-related problems in the East Zone and implement strategies to address them.
A system for hot spot cases has been developed. The site has access to “sophisticated mapping software.”
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (Newark) PROJECT: Essex County SMART Social Media Initiative
A specialized unit has been developed to investigate and prosecute cases based on suspects’ usage of social media. The site envisions a systematic, proactive approach to social-media mining that will reduce crime, empower victims, promote fair and impartial justice, and instill the public’s confidence in criminal justice.
Since the beginning of the initiative, the team has experienced successful identification hearings where witnesses and victims identify defendants without law enforcement involvement. The site continues to educate the judges about this process. The site continues screening about 3-6 potential cases per week, and reports that most cases have social media connections, due to witnesses initially identifying defendants through social media. Since June, the site has 19 confirmed cases in the treatment group, and another 50 tentative cases.
District Attorney of Chatham County (Savannah) PROJECT: The Chatham County Smart Prosecution Program
The initiative aims to reduce gun, local group, and gang violence by focusing on: identifying and targeting a geographic hot spot for gun violence in the Savannah area and most violent offenders within it; tracking and prioritizing prosecution and individuals within the hot spot; diverting non-essential cases (e.g., theft and simple drug possession) to alternative programs; and, engaging with community groups within the hot spot through meetings, social media forums, and other outreach strategies. As of June 26, there are 19 active cases in the target zone area, including both new charges and probation violations. Total cases – including active and disposed cases – have reached 30. The site’s goal is to reach 50 active cases soon.
The site continues its work with engaging community members, by attending neighborhood association meetings. The program “End Violence Now” is now housed under the District Attorney’s office; this move will promote community engagement and allow team members to work directly with the Youth Intercept Program.
The site’s researchers at Georgia Southern University are developing a process evaluation tool. The researchers are also creating one-page briefs on certain topics (such as policing hot spots) that can be quickly digested and used by practitioners. The researchers are currently focusing on social network analysis and spatial analysis, and have recently received data from the Savannah Area Regional Intelligence Center.
Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office PROJECT: Pre-trial Risk Assessment
The Baltimore City State’s Attorney developed an evidenced based pre-trial risk assessment tool to determine risk levels of individuals arrested to better inform their bail recommendations and identify individuals of highest risk.
San Diego City Attorney’s Office PROJECT: The Community Justice Initiative (CJI)
CJI uses data and evidence-based practices to restore justice and increase effectiveness and efficiency through a post-plea, city-wide diversion initiative to provide accountability, early intervention, and swift consequences for participants charged with eligible misdemeanor offenses. The site received its software platform/kiosk for client screening. The kiosks will electronically administer the proxy screen to determine high, medium, or low risk scores for program participants (a case manager previously conducted the risk assessment). The site is working with the courthouse for installation, and expects the kiosks to be up and running by September. The site is also building new software for the kiosks.
District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General PROJECT: Using Our Brains: Reducing Recidivism among Youth and Young Adults
The site is furthering collaboration with the DC US Attorney’s Office (USAO). Both offices plan to develop a diversion-based initiative, using restorative justice, for youth (ages 12-17) and young adults (ages 18-24) who commit certain crimes, such as theft, destruction of property and non-injury simple assault cases with victim consent. The team is evaluating USAO data for program development.
The site hired a restorative justice coordinator and two facilitators who will staff their restorative justice panels. The site team, partners, and office staff will receive ongoing support and assistance for program implementation and restorative justice training from the Baltimore Community Conferencing Center.
Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office (Kansas City) PROJECT: Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office Smart Prosecution Initiative
The site’s geographic-based initiative targets the “East Zone,” the most violent area within Kansas City. Team members will collaborate with law enforcement, community partnership specialists, and community members to assess crime-related problems in the East Zone and implement strategies to address them.
A system for hot spot cases has been developed. The site has access to “sophisticated mapping software.”
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (Newark) PROJECT: Essex County SMART Social Media Initiative
A specialized unit has been developed to investigate and prosecute cases based on suspects’ usage of social media. The site envisions a systematic, proactive approach to social-media mining that will reduce crime, empower victims, promote fair and impartial justice, and instill the public’s confidence in criminal justice.
Since the beginning of the initiative, the team has experienced successful identification hearings where witnesses and victims identify defendants without law enforcement involvement. The site continues to educate the judges about this process. The site continues screening about 3-6 potential cases per week, and reports that most cases have social media connections, due to witnesses initially identifying defendants through social media.
District Attorney of Chatham County (Savannah) PROJECT: The Chatham County Smart Prosecution Program
The initiative aims to reduce gun, local group, and gang violence by focusing on: identifying and targeting a geographic hot spot for gun violence in the Savannah area and most violent offenders within it; tracking and prioritizing prosecution and individuals within the hot spot; diverting non-essential cases (e.g., theft and simple drug possession) to alternative programs; and, engaging with community groups within the hot spot through meetings, social media forums, and other outreach strategies.
The site continues its work with engaging community members, by attending neighborhood association meetings. The program “End Violence Now” is now housed under the District Attorney’s office; this move will promote community engagement and allow team members to work directly with the Youth Intercept Program.
The site’s researchers at Georgia Southern University are developing a process evaluation tool. The researchers are also creating one-page briefs on certain topics (such as policing hot spots) that can be quickly digested and used by practitioners. The researchers are currently focusing on social network analysis and spatial analysis, and have recently received data from the Savannah Area Regional Intelligence Center.
Assisted Prosecutors in: • Developing ways to identify the most violent repeat offenders • Developing mechanisms to prosecute individuals who are responsible for opioid related deaths or the sale of drugs leading to overdoses • Using data to develop zone/geographic prosecution • Using crime analysis tools, through strategies like GunStat, to track violence involving the criminal use of a firearm • Developing policies to prosecute witness intimidation cases • Working jointly with parole and probation departments on violations of probation • Enhancing the prosecutor’s role in investigations of homicide cases and cybercrime strategies to improve public safety • Working jointly with police and the United States Attorney to develop formal process to prioritize cases for the most appropriate venue for prosecution
Through previous BJA funding, some creative solutions developed by prosecutors around the country centered on:
-Developing ways to identify the most violent repeat offenders. -Using data to develop zone/geographic prosecution. -Using crime analysis tools through strategies like GunStat to track gun violence. -Developing policies to prosecute witness intimidation cases. -Working jointly with parole and probation departments on violations of probation. -Enhancing the prosecutor’s role in investigations of homicide cases and cybercrime strategies to improve public safety.
BJA award $6.4 million under BJA’s Smart Policing Initiative, which enables law enforcement agencies to effectively use evidence-based practices, data and technology.
IPS continues to support 73 sites with 77 projects through monthly calls, site visits, development of strategic plans, as well as site specific training and technical assistance plans. The project has also developed several resources such as webinars, templates, and publications that can be found here at https://innovativeprosecutionsolutions.org/resources/.
Single Audit Applies (2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F):
For additional information on single audit requirements for this program, review the current Compliance Supplement.
OMB is working with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and agency offices of inspectors general to include links to relevant oversight reports. This section will be updated once this information is made available.
