Gun Court Pilot Study 06

Page 1

CJA

Research Brief No. 11

NEW YORK CITY CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY, Inc.

April 2006

A series of reports summarizing current research from CJA Executive Director, Jerome E. McElroy Director, Research Dept., Richard R. Peterson, Ph.D. Research Brief Editor, Mary T. Phillips, Ph.D. Graphics & Production, Raymond P. Caligiure Administrative Associate, Annie Su CJA is a not-for-profit corporation that provides a variety of criminal justice services under a contract with the City of New York. CJA staff interview defendants arrested in New York City, make recommendations for pretrial release, and notify released defendants of upcoming court dates. Within the Agency, the Research Department conducts studies covering a broad array of criminal justice policy concerns. The Research Brief series summarizes the results of some of these studies. New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc. 52 Duane Street New York, NY 10007 PHONE: 646 213-2500 FAX: 646 213-2650 WEB: www.nycja.org © 2006 NYC Criminal Justice Agency, Inc.

New York City’s Gun Court Initiative: A Pilot Program Study By Freda F. Solomon, Ph.D. New York City continues to de- nated courtroom in order to achieve velop criminal justice policies de- greater consistency, quality, and unisigned to further reduce crime. Once formity in decision making. The “Gun a problem area has been identified the Court” also is designed to achieve swifter case disCity works with Does a special court for position, using an appropriate criminal justice agen- felony gun cases affect case expedited 120-day cies, including the processing and outcomes? schedule. This is a third more quickly courts, prosecutors, and police, to develop a coordi- than the regular Supreme Court 180nated response. A recent addition to day standard for case disposition. In these crime control efforts has been addition, to strengthen weapon-possession cases from the outset, the inithe Gun Court initiative. Conviction to a felony weapon-pos- tiative also includes a training module session charge under New York State for police. The pilot program for the City’s law requires imprisonment of at least one year unless there is a finding of Gun Court initiative began on April compelling circumstances that would 28, 2003, with the official opening of lead to a less severe sentence “in the Kings County (Brooklyn) Supreme interest of justice.” The frequency of Court Part 31 for indicted gun-posthese exceptions to the mandatory one- session arrests from the borough’s year sentence provided impetus for the 67, 73, 75, 77 and 79 Precincts. These five together were reported initiative. The program’s key component is to account for more than half of all the assignment of all indicted felony Brooklyn shootings and about a weapon-possession cases to a desig- quarter of all shootings Citywide. This Research Brief is adapted from: New York City’s Gun Court Initiative: The Brooklyn Pilot Program by Senior Research Fellow Freda F. Solomon, Ph.D. The full report is available on the CJA web site: www.nycja.org/research/research.htm Address comments to the author at fsolomon@nycja.org Research project staff: Elyse J. Revere, Justin P. Bernstein, Raymond P. Caligiure, Nyota A. Muhammad Information Systems programming: Geraldine Staehs-Goirn


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