Initiatives
THE IIP IN ACTION
Now, more than ever, prosecutors need support in developing effective strategies that promote public safety and advance justice. Prosecutors require resources, tools, and guidance in implementing successful reforms in their communities and need safe, trusted spaces for productive dialogue with experts, community members, and one another.
Our initiatives bring together prosecutors, experts, & community members to promote evidence-based strategies for building safe communities, and equip them with the strategies, tools, and support needed to improve justice and safety nationwide.
Here’s how we get it done.
State Attorneys General Project
The Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College launched the State Attorneys General Police Oversight and Accountability Network to bring together attorneys general, leading experts, and key stakeholders for a series of strategic convenings in response to the urgent need for state attorneys general to play a greater role in the police accountability space.
The project aims to position state attorneys general to assume leading roles in police accountability and oversight, and, in so doing, to strengthen community trust in law enforcement, increase police legitimacy, and improve public safety.
Beyond Big Cities
Over the last several years, the nation’s conversation surrounding changes in prosecution has focused on a handful of urban, well-resourced prosecutor’s offices. The IIP has engaged with many of these prosecutors since our inception, and we are proud to continue working with them. But with 2300+ offices across the country, we will need more than just the commitment of big city prosecutors to create sustainable and effective change. It is imperative that we include and uplift prosecutors in smaller jurisdictions who may lack the resources of big city offices but are not lacking in their commitment to justice and equity.
With the support of Microsoft’s Justice Reform Initiative, the IIP launched a program to engage jurisdictions with medium and small-sized offices, particularly in rural areas.
Sex Crimes Prosecution
Following our panel on Sexual Assault Prosecution: Criminal Justice Reform in the #MeToo Era, the IIP convened a group of elected prosecutors, advocates, academics, and survivors to discuss the challenges of prosecuting sex crimes, where the system is failing communities, and potential solutions. The topics of conversation included the myth of the perfect victim, how to address sexual assault within the LGBTQ+ community, the use of restorative justice in sex crimes, the prosecution of juveniles in sex crimes, and how to move beyond conviction rates as a measure of success.