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From the Executive Director |
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Welcome! On behalf of the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI), I welcome you to our website and invite you to browse these pages and learn about how our work is inspiring positive change in public safety in Massachusetts and across the nation. These are exciting times for CJI as we take creative, collaborative, and holistic approaches to today's most pressing and complex social and public safety problems. CJI has a broad view of public safety and the role we play in bringing about positive change. Our mission's wide scope ranges from advocacy, research, and policy development to hands-on technical assistance, and our efforts focus on implementing more effective and efficient ways to operate the criminal justice system, both in Massachusetts and nationally, to ultimately increase public safety and the quality of life in our communities. Our collective breadth and depth of knowledge, plus an ever-widening network of relationships with impact players, have positioned CJI as an integral participant in forums where:
Several of our current projects highlight this capacity, including a multi-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Corrections. This project brings to bear the skills and experience of CJI's staff as well as a group of expert consultants to design a model for implementing evidence-based practices in community corrections and to provide technical assistance to several states as they test the model. This project has the potential for national replication, provides for more efficient use of public resources, and enhances public safety through more effective management of offenders in the community. A great example of our approach to partnership building, and one close to home for us here in Boston, is our work with the Boston Foundation and the Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation, on a series of community safety forums titled Understanding Boston. These forums are designed to explore a range of public safety issues, their impact on the community, public policy, and the potential for system change. The series engages the community, law enforcement, public agencies, and others in informed dialogue about a range of community safety issues and provides an opportunity to develop new learning, spark public debate, and influence current public safety practices and policy. At CJI, we are always in a learning mode and are excited about sharing our learning with you. Whether working on behalf of Boston's youth and their families, or states interested in improving their public safety systems, CJI always ensures the quality of our product through feedback and evaluation mechanisms that offer the maximum learning experience for all concerned. CJI operates as a division of Community Resources for Justice, Inc., which provides direct services to many of the same marginalized populations whom we also seek to serve. I hope you will visit CRJ's web site as well to learn more about their services. Together, we are enhancing the lives of people in need and bringing about long term change that makes communities safe, strong, and productive. Elyse Clawson |
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