Southwest Court Watch
Court Watch is a volunteer program, whose mission is to make our neighborhoods safer by monitoring the court proceedings of cases of interest in the Community and reporting back to the Community on the effectiveness of the courts in keeping dangerous criminals off our streets and helping to rehabilitate those willing to make a significant change in their lives.
The Southwest Sector 4 Court Watch Program was started in November 2003 after residents of the Southwest wondered why 13 individuals arrested in a drug sweep conducted by the Rochester Police Department were back on the streets so quickly. These 13 individuals were known to be members of the loosely organized ‘gang’ referred to as the Thurston Zoo. Court Watch volunteers now follow high profile, violent or repeat offenders through the City Court system, so they can provide answers to the neighborhood about how well our court system is working to improve the quality of life in the community. The program has grown to average over 50 reported volunteer hours per month.
A case comes into the court watch system, either as a referral from the local NSC police officers or from personal interest of a court watcher. At any one time, there are about 35 ongoing significant cases of interest to Sector 4 in the City Courts. Court Watch coordinators scan the public court appearance filing each day to see if one of our cases will be in court. When one is spotted, a notice goes out by email to our volunteers and one or more of our volunteers sits in court to follow the proceedings and report back to the group with a summary of the proceedings.
When cases get close to the sentencing phase, Court Watch often organizes letter writing campaigns within the local community, so that the Judge understands how particular crimes have impacted the quality of life of the community at large as well as the direct crime victim. Court Watch has had such a strong impact on the sentencing process that Defense Attorneys often try to object and have Court Watch and community letters stricken from consideration by the Judge during sentencing. Some of the Judges come up to Court Watch volunteers after a court session and thank them for the work they are doing for the Community.
