What is community prosecution and what is the reason the criminal justice system has moved toward this form of prosecution?
What will be an ideal response?
Over the past two decades, the criminal justice system has seen consistent movement toward a
community-based, proactive model of justice and crime control. Starting with community policing in the
1980s, various components of the criminal justice system shifted their focus away from arresting and
prosecuting offenders and more toward dealing with underlying issues within the community in an effort
to prevent crimes from occurring in the first place.—Since the 1990s, an increasing number of
prosecutors’ offices have engaged in what has been termed community prosecution. Community
prosecution involves a partnership among the prosecutor’s office, law enforcement, and the community,
in which the authority and power possessed by the prosecutor’s office are used to identify and solve
problems, enhance public safety, and improve the quality of life in the community. Under a community
prosecution model, the role of the prosecutor is redefined from a law enforcer in an adversary system to a
member of a community partnership with the ability to facilitate mediation, galvanize community action,
and impose civil sanctions and other nontraditional remedies in an effort to eradicate a problem faced by a
community.—The American Prosecutors Research Institute (1995) has identified five core elements to
community prosecution: a proactive approach to crime; a defined target area; an emphasis on problem-
solving, public safety, and quality-of-life issues; partnerships between the prosecutor, the community, law
enforcement, and others to address crime and disorder; and the use of varied enforcement methods.
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