Yesterday at a press conference held in the Red Hook Community
Justice Center, our sister project in Brooklyn, New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio announced
that William Bratton will be the new commissioner of the New York Police
Department. De Blasio chose the Red Hook Community Justice Center as the
setting to make the announcement to emphasize the importance of community
collaboration.“The fundamental idea” behind the Red Hook Community Justice
Center’s work, de Blasio explained, is that “the way to fight crime... is with
the community. This has been epitomized here to great, great effect, and that
idea animates... my entire view of public safety and how we have to move
forward as a city.”
The mayor-elect cited results from a recent independent evaluation, noting that 78 percent of the cases heard at the Red Hook Community
Justice Center received alternative sanctions, including community service or
social service mandates. He also noted that the Center has reduced the number
of offenders receiving jail sentences by 35 percent. The study also found that
the Justice Center helped reduce recidivism among both juvenile and adult
defendants.
According to Mayor-elect de Blasio, “Public safety and respect for
the public are not contradictory ideas; they are complimentary ideas. They go
hand in hand."
