Roundtable Brief: Improving Interactions Within the Justice System

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Recommended practices from national clinical experts convened by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice & the Center for Justice Innovation.

Most people arrested in New York City are not rearrested while waiting for a case decision. However, a small group is rearrested at much higher rates—and despite their clear needs, most never receive intensive mental, emotional, or behavioral health support at any point in the justice process.

Their experience is dominated by brief mandated encounters—check-ins, assessments, reminders, hearings—that, despite their short duration, are powerful intervention moments capable of shaping future well-being and behavior.

To better understand how to make these moments more therapeutic and impactful—and reduce further harm—MOCJ’s Research Innovation unit and the Center for Justice Innovation convened a national roundtable of clinical experts, focused on improving the everyday interactions most people in the system actually have.

Intake screenings, routine monitoring appointments, and other mandated touchpoints offer critical opportunities for trauma-informed care. Thoughtfully using these moments could improve court appearances, reduce rearrests, and strengthen engagement in longer-term services—an urgent need as the city works to reduce crime and incarceration while improving behavioral health care.

The roundtable sought to translate broad principles like being trauma-informed, strengths-based, and non-judgmental into concrete practices, language, and wording that also balance accountability. This brief summarizes the experts’ recommendations, which reflect their field experience and are not specific recommendations of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.