This film tells the story of community courts, an experimental approach to low-level crime initially tested in Midtown Manhattan in the 1990s. By combining punishment (typically community restitution, like picking up trash or painting over graffiti) with help (such as drug treatment, mental health counseling, or other social service), community courts seek to promote alternatives to incarceration, address the underlying problems that bring many offenders to court, and repair communities damaged by crime. To date, cities and counties across the U.S. have established nearly three dozen community courts. The film includes interviews and footage from the Midtown Community Court, the South Dallas Community Court, and Newark (N.J) Community Solutions.
