Through public policy, the criminal justice system affects every citizen. The policy reflects social control, ensuring that members of society are compliant and follow the rules to ensure community safety and sustainability (Alison et al., 2019). For instance, policies cover juvenile justice, drug control, domestic violence, jail congestion, school safety, federal immigration rules, terrorism, and national security. Crime prevention tactics include policies and activities to reduce crime, whereas crime control refers to crime prevention (Alison et al., 2019). The essay discusses BCJI and diversion programs are a way to boost community sustainability.
One of the programs for enhancing sustainability is the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) Program. It promotes data-driven, holistic, and community-oriented crime-reduction initiatives in high-crime areas (Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) program, 2019). BCJI grantees employ a broad range of crime prevention and response tactics (Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) program, 2019). Additionally, the BCJI approach is built on the idea that sustainable crime reduction requires partnerships among criminal justice system stakeholders, service providers, and the populations they serve.
Furthermore, diversion programs that enable individuals to engage at various decision points along the criminal justice system seek community sustainability. For instance, pre-police contact diversion programs acknowledge that many 911 calls do not necessitate law enforcement involvement. Instead of dispatching police to specific 911 calls, these initiatives dispatch citizen responders to solve community issues (Johnson et al., 2022). Instead of detaining people accused of infractions or nonviolent criminalized actions, pre-arrest diversion programs allow law enforcement to connect them to assistance and resources that address underlying needs.
Thus, such programs can tackle the fundamental issues contributing to criminalized conduct while improving community sustainability. Community residents must actively participate and lead throughout the process to accelerate and sustain change. BCJI and diversion initiatives are a wise and long-term investment in public safety. Furthermore, diversion programs can help to minimize the U.S. over-reliance on incarceration by promoting alternatives that foster prosperous and safe communities.
References
Alison, S., Burke, A. S., Carter, D., Fedorek, B., Morey, T., Rutz-Burri, L., & Sanchez, S. (2019). SOU-CCJ230 Introduction to the American criminal justice system. Open Oregon Educational Resources.
Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) program. (2019). U.S. Department of Justice. Web.
Johnson, A., Ali-Smith, M., & McCann, S. (2022). Diversion programs are a smart, sustainable investment in public safety. Vera. Web.