Trial & Error in Criminal Justice Reform: Learning from Failure

"Greg Berman and Aubrey Fox demonstrate the need for experimentation---trial and error---in developing successful problem-solving programs. Their Voice stands in sharp contrast to the bombastic cries and exaggerated claims of most so-called reformers." Malcolm M. Feeley, Claire Sanders Clements Dean's Chair Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley

"Through a series of fascinating case studies, Berman and Fox make the point that the criminal justice field can learn as much, if not more, from failed reforms as from successful initiatives. I agree and would urge front-line practitioners, policymakers, and scholars to read this provocative book Far from being a downer, this book charts a promising path for criminal justice reform in this country. I can think of no other book like it." Joan Petersilia Adelbert H Sweet Professor of Law Stanford University Law School

"Peter Drucker once observed that Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times---but also hit 714 home runs. We needn't be discouraged by Berman and Fox's findings; there's probably more to learn by diagnosing and embracing failure than by thinking we can easily or glibly replicate success. At a time when clarity, transparency, and trust are so lacking and so needed in policy and politics, this book can help us all see more clearly the seeds of failure and the ingredients necessary for sustainable success in criminal justice reform" Ira A Jackson, Henry Y Hwang Dean and Professor of Management, Claremont Graduate University

"Free of jargon and ideology, Trial & Error in Criminal Justice Reform: Learning from Failure offers a valuable contribution to the continuing discussion and debate about crime and what to do about it. It's an informed and realistic contemporary review of what reform efforts can, and cannot, achieve It's not only a good read but a must read." Bill Bratton, Former Commissioner, New York and Los Angeles Police Departments.

Greg Berman is the director of the Center for Court Innovation, a public-private partnership that seeks to reduce crime, aid victims, and improve public trust in justice. The Center has won numerous prizes for innovation, including the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation and the Innovations in American Government Award from the Ford Foundation and Harvard University. Greg is the coauthor (with John Feinblatt) of Good Courts: The Case for Problem-Solving Justice (The New Press).Aubrey Fox is the director of special projects for the Center for Court Innovation, where he is responsible for a range of initiatives including the Center's efforts to launch a new office in London. Prior to that, Aubrey was the project director of Bronx Community Solutions, a program that provides judges in the Bronx with alternative sanctions for misdemeanor cases.