The Prosecutor’s Evolving Role - Seeking Justice Through Community Partnerships and Innovation - May 2016

Oct 22, 2026

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This report examines how the prosecutor’s role has evolved over the past forty years from a limited, relatively passive function of evaluating and prosecuting police arrests into a broader mission focused on vigorously prosecuting cases and actively preventing crime. It outlines community engagement through outreach, community prosecution, programs for children and families, alternatives to incarceration, and re-entry and neighborhood-court approaches, as well as internal office programs such as crime strategy units, conviction integrity units, and ethics training.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time1 h 26 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Community Engagement and Community-Based Programs

Community Outreach

Community Prosecution

Resources for Children and Families

Alternatives to Incarceration

“Clean Slate” Programs

Diversion for Juveniles

Re-Entry Programs

Neighborhood Courts

Programs Within the Prosecutor’s Office

Crime Strategies Units

Conviction Integrity Units

Ethics Training

Identifying Implicit Bias

Best Practices Committees

Conclusion

THE PROSECUTOR’S EVOLVING ROLE SEEKING JUSTICE THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION BRAVE Community Event East Baton Rouge, Louisiana Crime Strategy Unit Delaware Department of Justice Prosecutors’Center for Excellence May 2016 Shooting Incidents by Percent of Vacant Properties THE PROSECUTOR’S EVOLVING ROLE SEEKING JUSTICE THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS……………………………………………………………………….3 Community Outreach ............................................................................................ 3 Community Prosecution ........................................................................................ 5 Resources for Children and Families ...................................................................... 7 Alternatives to Incarceration ..................................................................................9 “Clean Slate” Programs ........................................................................................ 14 Diversion for Juveniles ......................................................................................... 14 Re-Entry Programs .............................................................................................. 18 Neighborhood Courts .......................................................................................... 19 PROGRAMS WITHIN THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE............................... 20 Crime Strategies Units .......................................................................................... 21 Conviction Integrity Units .................................................................................... 23 Ethics Training .................................................................................................... 25 Identifying Implicit Bias ....................................................................................... 27 Best Practices Committees ................................................................................... 27 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 30 THE PROSECUTOR’S EVOLVING ROLE SEEKING JUSTICE THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION INTRODUCTION1 Prosecutors have a core mission to protect the community and ensure justice when enforcing the law.2 Traditionally, a prosecutor’s role was a limited and relatively passive one-to evaluate and prosecute arrests made by the police.3 But over the last forty years, there has been a dramatic transformation and expansion of prosecutors’mission, to not only vigorously prosecute criminal cases, but also to engage in crime 1 The authors of the article are Kristine Hamann, Executive Director of Prosecutors’Center for Excellence (PCE) and Laura Greenberg-Chao, a consulting attorney with PCE. Jessica Trauner and Rebecca Rader Brown, also consulting attorneys with PCE, provided the finishing touches. Georgetown Law School students Sandra Ghobraiel, Daniel Kroepsch, and Nicholas Russo did excellent research in support of the article. The work by Ms. Greenberg-Chao, Ms. Trauner, Ms. Rader Brown and Ms. Hamann (in part) was supported by Grant No. 2013-DB-BX-K005 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance/Department of Justice to the New York Prosecutors Training Institute (NYPTI). The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in these materials are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Just

FAQs

How has the prosecutor’s role changed over time?

The report describes a shift from a limited, relatively passive role focused on evaluating and prosecuting arrests to a broader mission that also emphasizes engaging in crime prevention and justice-focused community involvement.

What community-based approaches are discussed?

The document covers community outreach, community prosecution, and resources for children and families, supported by alternatives to incarceration and related diversion and re-entry initiatives.

Which programs operate within the prosecutor’s office?

It highlights crime strategy units, conviction integrity units, ethics training, and internal processes such as identifying implicit bias and best practices committees.

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by 404brain