Community Justice Advocacy
The Community Justice Advocacy Program organizes citizens to advocate for fundamental systemic change in the criminal justice system, with emphasis on restorative community alternatives to imprisonment.  These advocates for justice . . .
  • Research "what works" to change criminal behavior 
  • Support citizen action for rational community alternatives
  • Educate to influence enlightened justice policies
  • Serve as the watchdogs of justice
Community Justice Advocacy is a planning and decision making partnership between the formal criminal justice system, government and the community. The objective is to advance justice priorities as identified by residents, with the explicit goal of public safety and enhanced quality of life in the community.  In partnership with other organizations advocating for fundamental systemic change in the criminal justice system, the Benedict Center has been integral in accomplishing many significant changes. 


Major accomplishments in 2009:

The Milwaukee County Community Justice Council, which the Benedict Center helped develop, and now serves on the Executive Committee, has been working on more effective and efficient approaches to justice in Milwaukee, supporting the new drug treatment court, universal screening, and considering the potential for public health responses to substance abuse, mental health, violence and prostitution. 

Executive Director Kit Murphy McNally is actively involved in a number of initiatives throughout the state. 

  • As the Co-chair of the Wisconsin Women’s Network Task Force on Women and Criminal Justice and a member of the Executive Committee of the Milwaukee County Community Justice Council, McNally works to improve the conditions of the criminal justice system and advocate for alternatives to incarceration for non-violent criminals. 

  • McNally is a member of the Legislative Council’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative Oversight Committee, which has the potential to redirect public spending to safe, sound community alternatives developed as local initiatives, while reducing unnecessary reliance on extremely costly incarceration. 
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  • As part of a bipartisan legislative study committee, McNally worked with a statewide legislative committee chaired by Judge Michael Malmstadt to draft a Wisconsin Community Justice Act. The Community Justice Act has not yet come to fruition, and the Benedict Center has been working in collaboration with WISDOM and Justice 2000 to increase the understanding of and demonstrate community support for this legislation in order to seek reactivation of the committee for revision and resubmission as part of the next biennial budget.

Strong advocacy from the Benedict Center and strategic negotiations and advocacy from the Community Justice Council helped to override County Executive Scott Walker’s budget veto after Sheriff David Clarke requested it be removed from the 2010 County budget.  A 14-5 County Board veto override vote put it back in the budget – for now – in spite of the 85+ percent success rate for the alternative to jail program.    

 
Working for Change, Working for Hope

Based on 36 years of experience, direct service, advocacy and involvement at the local, state and national level, the Benedict Center is engaging all affected sectors in bringing the concept of community justice to reality in Milwaukee through three direct actions of its Justice Advocacy Program. All of these justice initiatives focus on realizing the values of a civil society through diverse partnerships to experience community justice as a more rational, effective and affordable reality than current over-reliance on failing criminal justice policies of the last 25 years.
  • Reactivate the Citizen’s Advisory Council to the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice System (CAC) to monitor conditions of confinement and advocate for expansion of jail alternatives. The CAC has been the catalyst for significant justice initiatives over the years, including jail psychiatric services, expanded jail programs, revolving bail fund, court monitoring, restitution work program, Community Justice Resource Center (day reporting), and a pilot Community Justice Center. Some of those initiatives have thrived; some have served their purpose; but now many are under threat from austere cuts. As the county tries to cut expenses, it is imperative to reinstate the CAC to protect the needs of inmates.

  • Engage business leadership and city government as partners to support Neighborhood Justice Centers in each of the seven police/community prosecution districts. The Benedict Center developed the Neighborhood Justice Center blueprint for Milwaukee based on adapted research of national experiences and tested it on the near south side. Taking lessons learned, the Benedict Center has created a subcommittee of the Milwaukee County Community Justice Council to collaboratively shape the proposal to include the interest of the business community and local government for a true partnership.

  • Pilot Green Works Community Service Teams for individuals diverted from prosecution to create urban, flower & rain gardens, pocket parks; plant trees, paint & cleanup distressed neighborhoods. The Green Works pilot is drawn from experiences in other jurisdictions and the Restorative Community Service project the Benedict Center facilitates at the Community Justice Resource Center. 

 
Other significant actions during the last 20 years include:

  • Open and maintain a model Community Justice Center on Milwaukee’s near south side during 2004. The center supports restorative justice practices and neighborhood probation, neighborhood police and community prosecutor and trains community members to connect with residents diverted from jail and returning from prison to treatment. 

  • The adoption of 24/7 nursing case in the County Jail; the addition of a psych-social worker unit to work with mentally ill inmates; and a full-time jail psychiatrist to assure essential medication for inmates.

  • Collaboration to create a program helping men and women return successfully from prison and find employment – now Project RETURN in the Milwaukee Enterprise Center.

  • Creation of a Combined Intake and Screening Unit to support pretrial diversion from incarceration.

  • Organization of Countywide support to replace an antiquated, unsafe and overcrowded jail with a new generation, limited capacity, Milwaukee County jail using state-of-the-art direct supervision management practices.

  • Development of libraries, created from scratch and operating under contract, to serve inmates in the new Milwaukee County Jail and later in the House of Correction.  Read more about the libraries that were closed by the Sheriff's Department in fall 2009.
  • Monitoring by the courts, in partnership with the League of Women Voters, which resulted in 20 recommendations to improve court process and alleviate overcrowding in the Milwaukee County Jail.

  • Creation of an Alternative Sentencing and Placement Directory, and three revisions, to facilitate court and probation decisions for alternatives to incarcerations.

  • Appointment by the County Executive of a blue ribbon task force on incarcerated persons with mental illness, resulting in a 40-point action plan.

  • Research by surveying 16 direct supervision jails to develop support for the new position of program director in the Milwaukee County Jail (finally successfully funded an inmate program manager for the Milwaukee County Jail and House of Correction).

  • Collaboration to bring a psychosocial, work centered clubhouse based on psychiatric rehabilitation to Milwaukee benefiting individuals with a mental illness – today the thriving Grand Avenue Club around the corner from the Benedict Center.

  • Development of Restitution Work Program in partnership with the Milwaukee Community Service Corps as an alternative to short 45-day incarceration at the House of Correction.

  • Institution of a revolving bail fund to assist indigent defendants post bail so they can return to their families, jobs and school while awaiting trial.

  • Development of CARS (Court Alternative to Revocation and Suspension) as a reparative alternative in Milwaukee Municipal Court for individuals with a suspended driver’s license. 

    Monitor conditions of detention in the Milwaukee County Jail, House of Correction, Community Corrections Center and Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility. The Detention Committee of the Citizens Advisory Council seeks action through administrators, regulators, attorneys and elected officials. The Benedict Center does not advocate on behalf of individual inmates, but does collect written complaints to address issues affecting many inmates, emphasizing health care, humane treatment and safety.  

  • Bring citizens together to change the criminal justice system. Since 1984, the action committees have advocated for changes large and small that have all had an impact on justice in Milwaukee.
  • Maintain the Community Justice Day Reporting Center - the most recent and visible success of the program. The center is an innovative Milwaukee County/community partnership that came into existence in November 1999 after three years of research, Milwaukee Countywide education, organizing, and strenuous advocacy on the part of The Benedict Center advocates and citizens from every supervisory district in Milwaukee.

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