Better Judgment: About this series

The criminal-justice system is a series of decisions.

A police officer decides whether to arrest you. A prosecutor decides whether to file charges. In most cases, a prosecutor and a defense lawyer hammer out a plea deal that determines whether you go to prison, with a judge’s final approval.

Each of those decision points can be an opportunity for business as usual — or something else.

Growing numbers of reformers, from law enforcement professionals to activists, are trying to use those moments to make the system less punitive and more responsive to underlying issues like poverty and addiction. The Sentinel is exploring those efforts as part of its new series, "Better Judgment."

The Sentinel began researching those efforts last year amid the national conversation on race, equity and criminal justice. We wanted to know what’s been tried here, how effective it's been and what other communities can learn from those efforts. 

That includes police departments becoming access points for drug treatment (see today’s story); initiatives that divert low-level offenders out of the legal system entirely; and replacing prison with a "drug court" model of treatment. This series looks at where those programs have succeeded, while grappling with their drawbacks and limitations.

A quick note on what this series is not: You won’t read about sweeping proposals to change sentencing laws or substantially shift funding from police to social services. While important debates, they're not the focus of the series, which explores how local stakeholders are trying to build alternatives into the system as it exists now.

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The reporting for this series was supported by a grant from the nonprofit Solutions Journalism Network. The Sentinel retains full editorial control of the content.

Paul Cuno-Booth can be reached at 603-352-1234, ext. 1409, or pbooth@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @PCunoBoothKS

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.