The Center for Court Innovation, with the support of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, has embarked on a multi-faceted inquiry designed to analyze failure in criminal justice reform. The Center is examining efforts to improve the criminal justice system that did not achieve the results that were intended in an attempt to promote innovation going forward.  At its heart, this is an effort to shift the way criminal justice agencies perceive failure, from a stigmatizing and wholly negative force to a necessary companion and contributor to success. In 2010, Urban Institute Press published Trial & Error in Criminal Justice Reform: Learning from Failure a book based on the Center's study of failure.

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Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General

Prior to joining the Obama administration, Laurie Robinson talked to the Center for Court Innovation about the role that government can play in promoting a healthy conversation about failure. This is one in a series of interviews with leading criminal justice scholars and policymakers on the subject of trial and error.

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Lessons From D.A.R.E.
A new report takes a deeper look at the conflict over D.A.R.E., a drug abuse prevention program that sends police officers into schools to teach young people about the dangers of the drug use. Researchers have criticized D.A.R.E. for failing to make an impact on teen drug use. Nonetheless, the program continues to thrive in school systems across the U. S. This paper examines the controversy and explores the gap that often exists between research and practice.

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Failure: Public Policy's Stepladder to Success
In July 2010, the Urban Institute organized a forum to explore the lessons to be learned from failed public policies and programs. Trial and Error in Criminal Justice Reform, the Center's book on failure was featured at the event. Click here for more information or click below to see Greg Berman's remarks.