Red Hook Community Justice Center

This morning I visited a centre that I have known about and indeed talked about in my lectures for a number of years. It has been in existence since 2000 and is known as the Red Hook Community Justice Center. It was created as a more responsive court innovation than the traditional court system in USA. Red Hook is a particularly deprived and poverty stricken area of New York. It is also geographically somewhat isolated as three sides of Red Hook are bounded by water and on the fourth side is a huge flyover which cuts it off from other communities. This initiative from the start has had one presiding judge who I was able to see in action today. He is known as Alex Calabrese.

We entered the court and after a few minutes were invited to sit next to him as he made decisions. This in my experience is unique in any court situation in the UK or probably elsewhere in the USA. Not only did he administer justice quickly, fairly, and in a respectful manner whoever was appearing before him, he also guided us through the mysteries of how the court worked. It was a fantastic and unique experience. When he observed good progress amongst the offenders and was discharging them from the court, he called them up to the bench and shook their hands, wishing them well. This is again unique.

I won't tell you more about the system as I realise I am not talking to specialists in the field and you may be bored with more detail. What I will say is it's cheered me up no end I now feel settled in my new hotel.

I have had an experience that I have looked to have for a long time and I decided to blip two pictures. One is the centre itself from the outside with its distinctive flag. This is a converted school and was one of many houses and buildings which suffered badly during the Sandy hurricane a couple of years ago when floods devastated the area. They have managed to rebuild their communities amongst amazing acts of community spirit. The second picture is a mural which was on the wall of the room where I was observing a meeting. This has been done by some of the young people coming through the centre and apart from being a fantastic mural in its own right it expresses some of the hopes that the centre promulgates - second chances, perseverance, change and help. It was a truly inspiring experience.