Snohomish County is developing a new court to adjudicate low-level nonviolent offenses such as criminal trespass, vehicle prowling, and disorderly conduct. Low level crimes such as these may not get attention in the regular court system. A community court works with perpetrators who would benefit from help for mental illness or drug addiction and who may have housing or employment needs. The approach is like those of drug and mental health courts but will not handle serious mental health issues or violent crimes.
The concept was started in New York City in 1993. Currently, the cities of Olympia and Spokane operate community courts.
The idea is to provide pretrial services that are not provided to defendants at a regular court in order to try to help them stop destructive behavior before the behavior escalates to repeated stays in jail or more serious crimes. It will have a carrot and stick approach, like drug court, in that defendants who are in the program can have their charges dismissed within half a year if they show up once a week and complete their requirements.
The county is planning for the new court with a community needs assessment, in progress now, and hopes to have the court open in February of next year.
For more information about community court, see this article:
The Herald:
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/a-court-for-those-who-need-help/
The county is conducting a voluntary survey of its citizens about the new community court and would like your input. You can find the survey at this link,
Snohomish County:
https://snohomishcountywa.gov/5449/Community-Court
For descriptions of other community courts, check out these web pages,
City of Olympia:
http://olympiawa.gov/city-government/lee-creighton-justice-center-court/community-court.aspx
Spokane Public Library:
https://www.spokanelibrary.org/community-court/
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