Community Courts in Philly

Curtis Jones Jr., an underated councilman, makes a case for Community Courts here in Philly in the DN. It makes so much more sense than locking up the 1,000 non-violent offenders in the Philly prison system:

If a prisoner is being held on $300 bail and is sitting in jail for 180 days because of frivolous continuances, it costs the city $17,000. That prisoner could be monitored through an alternative to incarceration at a cost of $3,600.

I'm proposing that a "Community Court" option would, while saving incarceration money, also provide much-needed community service, which has a very real intrinsic value.

Cleaning lots, removing graffiti, weatherizing homes and any number of tasks needed throughout our neighborhoods could be provided at a fraction of the current cost. And because each community has its own needs and concerns, the Community Courts would be composed of members from each of the communities, with sentencing reflecting each area's specific needs.

I know they've been talking about this for a while so it is great to see Curtis and crew making the public case.

Let's give 'Community Courts' a try