CCCN's Paradigm Shifts

CCCN’s Paradigm Shifts

1. Shifting from a system that bases decisions solely on a defendant or offender’s charges to a system that considers the individual’s risk level and treatment needs to determine sanctions, supervision level, and intervention.
2. Shifting from a system focused primarily on access to money to facilitate release and punishment for offenses committed to a system that offers incentives and provides opportunities for positive behavioral changes, while also holding defendants and offenders accountable.
3. Creating new awareness that incarceration should be limited to those defendants and offenders who cannot be safely supervised in the community and that there are alternatives to incarceration that can effectively hold them accountable while also protecting the public.
4. Generating greater understanding that individuals who can be safely supervised in the community are more capable of supporting themselves and their family when their employment and/or schooling are not disrupted, thereby reducing taxpayer expenses.
5. Expanding recognition that victims are an integral part of the justice process and that their involvement throughout the process is necessary.
6. Reducing institutional bias and ensuring that individuals receive fair and equal access to the justice system; and includes equal opportunities for diversion and alternatives to incarceration.
7. Shifting from a system that limits diversion to a system that carefully assesses a defendant and offender’s amenability and qualifications for diversion, and offers diversion opportunities from the point of arrest.
8. Securing a commitment from all parts of the criminal justice system that replaces a punitive approach to justice with a science-based approach will yield better outcomes and will reduce the number of future crime victims.