Jeff Altenburg has been a prosecutor since 1997 and in 2002 joined the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Community Prosecution Unit, where he is Community Prosecution Team Captain as well as the Community Prosecutor for Milwaukee Police Department District Three. In June 2007, he was named the Assistant District Attorney of the Year by the Wisconsin District Attorney Association. Shortly after, he spoke with the Center about the award and Milwaukee’s vision for community prosecution, and how it’s changed since he was interviewed by Center staff in May 2006.

Q: Since we last spoke, John Chisholm has become Milwaukee’s District Attorney. What changes have taken place in the prosecutor’s office as a result?
Since John’s been elected, he’s reorganized our office. He merged our felony and misdemeanor teams to create general crimes teams, and he divided those up geographically around our community prosecutors. So we have six community prosecutors in Milwaukee County, and they each represent six out of the seven police districts spread throughout the city. Because he didn’t have enough general crimes people, he had to have five teams instead of six but he created those teams around the geographic areas that the community prosecutors represent. So, for instance, I’m in District 3, and I have another community prosecutor in District 4. They merged those two districts for purposes of general crimes and any misdemeanor or felony crime that occurs within those two districts goes to one team, which handles all the cases out of that area. The natural result of that also is that two courts are the only ones who hear cases out of that area. So now when an offense occurs in a particular district the police are going to know which team of DA’s will be handling it—that never changes—and ultimately which judges are going to be handling those cases as well. It makes the courts and the DA’s office much more accountable to the neighborhoods, as well as much more knowledgeable about the neighborhoods they’re handling the cases for.

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Community Prosecution in South Africa
While South Africa is one of the most prosperous African countries, it also faces high crime rates. In response, the government has embarked on an ambitious, country-wide community justice program. Seventeen (soon to be 18) community courts are currently in operation around the country. Community policing strategies are being employed throughout the national police force. And, in 2006, the National Prosecuting Authority launched a community prosecution pilot program in each of the country’s nine provinces, in areas that together account for some of the highest crime levels in South Africa.

“This is a very exciting initiative as we explore the role of the prosecutor in crime prevention and community justice,” says Shamila Batohi, Director of Public Prosecutions for KwaZulu-Natal province and the senior prosecutor responsible for coordinating the project. “We face enormous challenges in our beautiful country, but we are optimistic that the community prosecution initiative will help us move closer to the achievement of the National Prosecuting Authority’s vision: ‘Justice in our society so that people can live in freedom and security.’

UPDATE: In March 2008, an extensive independent research report on the South African pilot sites was released. The report found that partnerships between community prosecutors, municipalities, local communities and police can significantly help reduce crime rates. To read more, click here.

COMMUNITY PROSECUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA
Left to right: Val Melis (Durban), Richard Griggs (IPT researcher), Machell Jacobs (Cape Town), Judge Wanda Dallas (Atlanta, Georgia USA), Gugulethu Mampofu (Mdantsane), Julius Lang (Director, Technical Assistance, Center for Court Innovation), Fiona Cloete (Cape Town), Raymond Mathenjwa (Randburg), Adv. Shamila Batohi (Director of Public Prosecutions, KwaZulu-Natal), Thaxx Matalong (Kuruman), Ron Mncwabe (Mamelodi), Ishmael Motaung (Bethlehem), and Iole Mathews (IPT Program Manager).

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