Dr. Tony Gaskew, director of the criminal justice program at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, has turned the focus of his scholarly work from describing problems with the criminal justice system in the United States to reimagining the justice system of the United States.
A scholar of revolutionary justice, he is spreading solutions through a new book series, “Critical Perspectives on Race, Crime and Justice,” writing four book chapters, editing two journals and serving with some of the best-known names in black intelligentsia as part of a unique project planned at George Mason University.
“Our nation is looking for solutions now — whether it’s understanding how to end mass incarceration, accepting that we will not be able to arrest our way out of drug addiction, or defining the exact role that policing should serve in our daily lives,” he said. “And some of the best solutions come from communities themselves.”
From his perspective, the best way to prevent the overreach of the criminal justice system in America is to place total control and oversight of policing, courts and corrections directly in the hands of the communities they serve. According to Gaskew, this concept could be implemented by using a board of directors comprising 10-15 community members, similar to the organizational model used by thousands of successful corporations across the nation. In his vision, these boards would have decision-making authority.
“Using this type of community-based design, departmental leaders, such as police chiefs, probation directors, district attorneys and wardens, would report directly to their community board of directors, which would then have oversight and operational control over decisions such as agency-specific policy, hiring and employee discipline, information technology and finances,” Gaskew said. “This approach will allow a community ownership of its justice system. As we move forward, the criminal justice system must develop a fully transparent and accountable partnership with the community, if public service is to become the ultimate goal.”
For academic and educational publisher Rowman and Littlefield, Gaskew is leading an effort to discover and publish other experts who have ideas on transforming the justice system as the editor of his own series of books titled “Critical Perspectives on Race, Crime, and Justice.”
Beginning next month, Gaskew will take part as a consultant in a series of discussions at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in Virginia. The project, funded by the Carnegie Corp. in New York City, is called “The Civil War at 150 Years: Deep Wounds yet to Heal.”
In the initial phase of the project, leading scholars and academic specialists will meet over the course of a year in problem-solving workshops in an attempt to explore community-based solutions that focus on healing the racial, class and moral wounds caused by the American Civil War.
Gaskew, considered one of the most innovative criminal justice scholars in the country, was selected by the White House and the Obama administration in 2016 to serve on a criminal justice roundtable focusing on post-secondary prison education initiatives. Gaskew serves as the founding director of the Pitt-Bradford Prison Education Program.
