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Department of Community Justice
501 S.E. Hawthorne Boulevard Suite 250
Portland, OR 97214
MAIN: 503.988.3701 ** FAX: 503.988.3990 ** TTY Relay Service: 711
Peter M. Senge, a leading author in organizational development and management, wrote that Leadership in a learning organization starts with the principle of creative tension. Creative tension comes from seeing clearly where we want to be, our vision, and telling the truth about where we are, our current reality. The gap between the two generates a natural tension. The Department of Community Justice, a learning organization, recognizes this tension and is intent on resolving it by raising our current reality toward our shared vision.
The mission of the Department of Community Justice and our values and principles are designed to guide us in our day-to-day work and to lead us toward a shared vision. While we recognize that we sometimes have room to improve, we believe in our ability to change and we continue to strive toward achieving our mission and using our values and principles to guide us in our work.
Mission
Our mission is to enhance community safety and reduce criminal activity by holding youth and adults accountable in a fair and just manner, assisting them to develop skills necessary for success, and effectively using public resources.
Values and Principles
Change and Rehabilitation
We believe in people's ability to change and strive to provide opportunities for rehabilitation through the effective use of best practices.
Restitution to Victims and Communities
We value restitution to neighborhoods and individual crime victims. Restitution restores those impacted by crime and encourages offenders to take responsibility for the harm they caused.
Strong Families
We value families for their role in strengthening our communities and preventing criminal behavior.
Diversity
We value and respect diversity within our staff, our clients and our community.
Professionalism
We value the highest standards of professional behavior, including treating people with respect, promoting effective communication, resolving conflicts peacefully, acting with integrity, taking initiative, and accepting personal responsibility for our organizational culture.
Financial Accountability
We recognize that it is our responsibility to manage our limited time and resources carefully to maximize services provided to the public.
Investing in Employees
We invest in employees through education and training and by providing opportunities for personal and professional growth. We value a balance between professional responsibilities and personal life.
Information Based Decisions
We value information. We are dedicated to continuous improvement and use data and best practices to help guide our decision making.
Collaborative Relationships
We believe that in order to enhance public safety we must work collaboratively with our partners, including the judiciary, law enforcement, schools, treatment agencies, and the community.
Our vision for the Department of Community Justice is equally a vision for our communities.
Twenty years from now, citizens will feel safe as they walk along streets in our communities, by day or night. Citizens will have confidence in the criminal justice system. The Department will respond effectively to youthful and adult offenders to ensure public safety and to reduce the risk of recidivism.
When a youth manifests the early stages of juvenile delinquency, people in our community will notice.
Schools, neighbors, law enforcement and service agencies will act to support the parent(s) in controlling the youth's behavior and addressing underlying issues that are triggering the problems. Delinquency will still occur, but youths will generally expect consequences for acting-out beyond the limits of acceptable behavior. whether it be truancy or law violations. Services for youth will be culturally and gender appropriate, enhancing their strengths and addressing their individual needs.
Youthful and adult offenders will be held accountable to the individuals and communities that they have victimized.
Swift and certain sanctions will be used as tools for protecting the community and changing offender behavior. , restitution and mediation programs continue as an effective strategy for sensitizing offenders to the consequences of their behavior and for building confidence in the justice system. There will be fewer youth in custody and more youth in school on a per capita basis. Youth of color will no longer be disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system. The citizens of Multnomah County will understand the issues and strategies for addressing delinquency and community corrections better than the citizens of any other metropolitan area of comparable size. Partnerships with neighborhood and civic organizations and providers of social, health, public safety, and educational services will be strong.
Targeted approaches based on research and promising practices will be used in allocating a range of supervision, services and sanctions to adult offenders.
Close working partnerships with the Courts, the District Attorney, law enforcement and corrections will be sustained to realize "truth in sentencing" and to support cost-effective management of justice system resources.
The Department will provide a positive work environment.
Staff will have the responsibility and authority to make decisions that further the values and mission of the organization and provide quality services to customers. The Department will measure performance and consistently use that information to improve services and communicate results. It will continue to invest in staff training to assure provision of quality services and good value for tax dollars; will continue to do what is done well; and seek new ways to enhance the livability of our communities and the security of our citizens.
To protect public safety and control costs:
Focus active case supervision, services and sanction resources on certain targeted populations of offenders.
To hold adults accountable, be fair and reduce recidivism:
Improve the ability of the Justice System to provide swift, sure and appropriate consequences when adults violate the law.
To do our work together, more effectively:
Share information with community members, partners and staff on what works in community-based criminal justice practices and routinely evaluate the extent to which local policies and practices reduce crime.
Juvenile Services Division Strategies
To prevent delinquency:
Support at-risk, acting-out and delinquent youth to complete high school and to engage in structured, meaningful activities after school.
To prevent delinquency and intervene early in delinquency:
Challenge and support parents, schools and neighborhoods to raise expectations about youths' acceptable behavior, to increase mutual respect among youth/adults and to improve youth/adult skills to respond appropriately.
To hold youth accountable, be fair and reduce recidivism:
Improve the ability of the Juvenile Justice System to provide swift, sure and appropriate consequences when youth violate the law.
To protect public safety and control costs:
Direct specialized resources towards youth at greatest risk of committing violent crime or serious, repetitive crimes.
To do our work together, more effectively:
Share information with community members, partners and staff on what works to prevent juvenile crime and routinely evaluate the extent to which local policies and practices support those best practices.
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