Community Justice Project
The Community Justice Project (“C.J.P.”) is a collaborative between the Minneapolis Police Department, the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, and the Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility. The Project's primary goal is to increase public safety by reducing recidivism through changing the behavior of offenders and effecting system change. Each week C.J.P. interviews inmates at the Adult Corrections Facility (“A.C.F.”) who are referred from three primary sources: the Community and Law Enforcement Action Network (C.L.E.A.N.) list of chronic offenders for the City of Minneapolis; the Probation, ACF staff and, self-referrals from inmates. After an inmate is interviewed C.J.P. matches him or her with a mentor and/or refers the inmate to other agencies or resources. Project volunteers make a commitment to attend training and work with offenders for one year prior to their release and re-entry back into the community. Volunteers mentor offenders at the Adult Correction Facility in Plymouth. The mentoring process begins at least one month prior to a matched inmate’s release and continues for another nine (9) months upon the inmate’s return to the community. C.J.P. communicates with mentors on a monthly basis to provide ongoing support and supervision. In addition, if an inmate has a probation or parole officer, C.J.P. tries to connect that officer with the inmate’s mentor.
Quick Facts:
- Focus of initiative/program:
- Mentoring
- Inititative/program name:
- Community Justice Project
- Year Established:
- 2005
- Lead agency/organization name:
- Shared employ-Mpls Police Department and Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches
- Population served by initiative/program:
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- Returning from local detention facilities
- Returning from prison
- Not under community corrections supervision
- Under community corrections supervision (parole or probation)
- Adults
- Men
- Women
- People convicted of a violent offense
- People convicted of a non-violent offense
- Gang members
- Sex offenders
Community Justice Project
Contact:
Hillary FreemanDirector Community Justice Project
Phone: 612-673-2892
1001 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407
hillary.freeman@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
www.gmcc.org
Community Justice Project
Initiatives and Programs
- Focus of initiative/program:
- Mentoring
- Inititative/program name:
- Community Justice Project
- Lead agency/organization name:
- Shared employ-Mpls Police Department and Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches
- Funding sources for initiative/program:
- Individual Donors and Faith Communities
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
Funding
Partners in the reentry initiative/program
| Informal Agreement | Formal Agreement (e.g., a written contract or an MOU) with this partner. |
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| Community- and faith-based services providers: |
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| Education and training providers (e.g., local public school officials, vocational instructors): |
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| Health, mental health, and substance abuse treatment providers: |
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| Housing officials: |
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| Institutional corrections (e.g., DOC, jail, prison): |
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| Law enforcement agencies (e.g., police, sheriff's office): |
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| Members of the community (e.g., people who have been incarcerated, their families or neighbors): |
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| Other criminal justice agencies (e.g., prosecutors, judges): |
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| Work force development and employment agencies (e.g. business associations, unions): |
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Participants
- Population served by initiative/program:
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- Returning from local detention facilities
- Returning from prison
- Not under community corrections supervision
- Under community corrections supervision (parole or probation)
- Adults
- Men
- Women
- People convicted of a violent offense
- People convicted of a non-violent offense
- Gang members
- Sex offenders
- Total number of people who have participated in initiative/program to date:
- We have interviewed 600 people since the beginning and have a total of 300 mentors
- Total number of people currently participating in initiative/program:
- 200 mentors and 150 people being mentored as of today
- Total number of people who can be served at one time:
- We serve about 220 inmates per year and recruit about 100 mentors per year
- If your initiative/program serves people under community corrections supervision, how does your organization work in partnership or work in collaboration with participants’ probation or parole officers?
- Yes, I interview the inmates for the program each week and they all sign a release of information form. That form is faxed to either their PO and or Parole agent so the mentor can be involved in the release planning of the inmate and either the PO/Parole agent.
Data Collection
- Does your organization collect demographic data on participants?
- Yes
- If "yes", what kind of data? And what results has this data yielded?
- 1. We keep an access data base on all the people we interview.Community Justice Project Report for 2006-2008.
2006:We interviewed 136 people and mentored 86 offenders. 50% of our mentees stayed connected to their mentor upon release.
We have arrest history for 40 individuals and this group had a total 464 arrests two years prior to incarceration and a total of 182 arrests one year post incarceration. However of 50% of mentees who stay connected to their mentors upon release they had 205 arrest two yrs prior to incarceration and 77 arrests one year post incarceration. The recividism rate was 20%. We also have data for 2007 and 2008.
2008 data:We interviewed 182 offenders and mentored 135 of those offenders. We have increased the rate of those who stayed connected to their mentor up release to 53%.Of the 104 people who were released we have arrests histories for 75 of those people. In the two years prior to incarceration this group had 456 arrests, one year post incarceration this group had 55 arrests and only 11 were commited by mentee who stayed connected to their mentor upon release. The recividism rate is 2008 is 13%. - Does your organization collect data about the process of your initiative/program?
- Yes We keep track of who goes to treatment but outcomes are measrured in connections with mentoring
- Does your organization measure and/or track the outcome of participation?
- Yes see number 11
Activities
- What, if any, activities does your initiative/program include for people while they are incarcerated and how do these activities differ from those offered to the general population?
- Just mentoring, the other programs like COG skills, employment are offered by the correctional facility.
- What activities does your organization engage in post-release and how do these activities differ from those offered to the general population?
- We hold mentor dinners for ongoing training and support and mentors can bring bring their mentee, have a mentor-mentee picnic and have a full time adult mentor coordinator to link mentors to other resources.
- How are people placed into your program?
- Referral Drug Court, Mental Health Court, PO, ACF staff, chronic offenders from City and County Attorney list, hig risk LSIR and self referral