NCJ Number
95160
Date Published
1979
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The Akron 4-A project ('Arbitration As An Alternative' to minor criminal complaints) successfully achieved its goals and objectives in fiscal 1976.
Abstract
The goals of the project are to (1) provide system support activities to improve the ability of criminal justice and related agencies to deliver services, (2) provide a meaningful alternative to prosecution of minor criminal complaints independent of the municipal court, and (3) streamline the workload with direct impact upon the municipal prosecutor's time and an indirect impact upon the court's time and manpower requirements of the police department. The project's objectives are to (1) increase the probability of resolving problems by removal of rules of evidence applicable in the court, (2) divert minor criminal complaints to reduce the caseload of the criminal justice system, (3) aid in the speedy resolution of problems, and (4) provide a more lasting resolution of private criminal cases through means less costly and more swift than traditional court proceedings. The project is funded by the Summit County Criminal Justice Commission through the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. In 1976, the project had a budget of $29,222 in public funds. Thus, the cost per case in 1976 was $23.97, since the project met a projected caseload of 1,219 cases that year. The program is well-run, effective, and efficient. Seventeen references and four tables are included.