Common Interests
I learned a hard lesson about “community.” I attempted to zone a community corrections facility without building a relationship with the community first. Rookie mistake. The public hearing wasn’t pretty. It is said that when under attack, human nature is to fight, flight or freeze. This community felt attacked and fought. Hard. And won. While I felt pretty battered at the time, it might be the most important lesson I’ve learned as a professional. I realized that until you understand , really understand, what “community” means, you might want to consider a career other than community corrections.
“Community” is derived from the Latin word meaning “common.” While community traditionally referred to a common locality (i.e., a neighborhood), online communities have proven that common interests are more important than zip code. Lots of groups have common interests without having a sense of community. What turns a group into a community? Relational connections (even online connections…pun intended). Without some type of relational connection, there can be no sense of community. Bonds, memories, emotions, values and a history of togetherness is what create community.
Live in a neighborhood without much sense of community? Try to open a halfway house, sex offender treatment facility, or parole office. The community will define itself quickly, loudly, and proudly. In times of perceived crisis, community is as much defined by who is not “one of us” as it by “who we are.” Few things trigger this in-group/out-group mentality like a zoning hearing for a controversial project. Everyone wants to be a part of the in-group. It is energizing and creates a clear target. When you are in the out-group, well… you are the bulls eye.
How do you get the bulls eye off of your back? Become part of the community. Expect to serve rather than be served. Keep promises. Be transparent and genuine. Communicate more than necessary.
Without fail, the energy demonstrated against my zoning efforts have eventually turned into equally enthusiastic support of our mission whether we won or lost the zoning battle. In fact, in each case, opponents of our projects become proponents when we reapplied or wanted to expand. Individuals who sued me several years earlier, walked to the microphone and adamantly advocated for us. It feels magical. It feels heart warming. You feel connected. You feel like you are part of something important. That feeling…that is community.
Changing Community Corrections
I love community corrections. The balance between accountability and forgiveness is nothing short of biblical. However, as the community corrections movement grows in popularity and in numbers, I am concerned that we are missing the true meaning of the “community” part. It appears that we are largely misinterpreting “community” to mean “not incarcerated.” While that distinction is a reasonable part of the definition, it misses the mark. Given the above definition of community, “community corrections” should describe a vital branch of the criminal justice system that directly reflects, or at least respects, the interests, values, and connections of a given locality. By allowing the definition of “community” to be hijacked and defined by what it is not, we invite providers and policy makers without that “connection” to promote and emphasize the “corrections” over the “community.”
It is not that community corrections is new. The concept and the practice has been around for decades. However, it is getting renewed attention by the media and policy makers. We have long understood that incarceration has little impact on future criminal behavior.The public has long favored the values of community corrections. We have better defined offender intervention strategies thanks to better articulation of evidence based principles. Of course, there are policy makers who will use community corrections as a political pawn. Similarly, there are providers whose primary “connection” is to Wall Street. Still, community corrections’ mission is admirable and, more importantly, doable IF we are thoughtful and purposeful, not just observers of the pendulum swing.
The Colorado Model
Each state has implemented community corrections differently. The State of Colorado has a unique system that appropriately emphasizes the “community” in community corrections. Legislated in the 1970s, community corrections is funded by the state but implemented with “local control.”The local judicial district chooses whether to run the community corrections program (s) themselves or contract with private entities (Colorado has a mix of county, non-profit and for-profit providers). In turn, the judicial district creates a “community corrections board” that consists of community citizens and various representatives of the criminal justice system. The state sets the minimum standards of accountability for providers but otherwise allows the local community corrections board to represent local interest and values in their oversight of community corrections providers.
The standards set by the state ensure meaningful and consistent public safety measures are implemented, and the local focus encourages specialized programs and innovations that cater to local needs. The roles and responsibilities of the funding and oversight agencies are well defined and cooperation between the local districts and the state is most often characterized by cooperation and collaboration. By avoiding the tempting “one size fits all” approach to community corrections, the State of Colorado has developed and refined a system that has a solid track record of “community” and “corrections.”
Sharing our Commonalities
Community corrections is growing, growing in numbers and growing in maturity. We are bigger and smarter (which do not always go together). In the coming years, we will all hear a great deal about evidence based practices, transition planning, family reintegration, what works, performance based funding, financial savings and recidivism reduction. Each of these are important concepts and deserve the attention they will receive. Still, as we continue our growth, let us not forget that community corrections begins with common interests. We must communicate the importance of that partnership for all. By the way, “communicate” comes from the Latin word meaning “to make common.” Are you seeing a trend?
