NCJ Number
194168
Journal
Prosecutor Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2002 Pages: 38-39-40
Date Published
2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article is an overview of the implementation, growth, and benefits of the Howard County, Maryland State's Attorney Community Prosecution Program
Abstract
Upon her election in 1995 as Howard County, Maryland, State’s Attorney, Marna McLendon began the development of a prosecutorial community justice program, a program which would allow prosecutors to focus on the needs of a specific community within Howard County and provide prosecutors the opportunity to interact with community representatives in a problem solving capacity. Representatives of the Howard County State’s Attorneys office formed a steering committee and gathered information from other jurisdictions that had already implemented community prosecution programs. Building on ideas from other jurisdictions, the office was able to launch a targeted community as well as a high school program in 1996. The targeted community program assigned two prosecutors to act as a liaison to community leaders and police agencies serving the pilot program area of the county. The high school program involved bi-monthly meetings between prosecutors and various other agency representatives responsible for juvenile justice and the security of the high schools. In 1998, the county community justice program joined the statewide HotSpot program, designed to target crime in specified neighborhoods. In January 2000, Howard County received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice to expand the community justice program.