“Citizens’ Role in Justice: Building a Primary Justice and Prevention System at the Neighborhood Level.”

Source: (1987) Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 494: 42-53.

This essay argues that policymakers and urban mayors should support the development of community justice systems, because they are the only method currently known to reduce the level of violence between people who know one another. These conflict resolution programs promote cooperation within and between communities and build community institutions that respond directly to the issues of disorder, crime, and violence. More than 10 years of experience has shown that community-based conflict resolution is a much more effective and preventive policy by define the concept of prevention as a community responsibility maintained by citizens exercising their civic rights.