Yakima city officials are exploring the possibility of creating a community court to handle what are called quality of life crimes. City Manager Tony O'Rourke says the court would focus on crimes like panhandling, graffiti vandalism and harassment.

"For example," he says, "in Seattle they operate this court and they've seen 3,000 cases and they generally sentence them to community service." O'Rourke adds that those cases have generated 50,000 hours of community service and have cut the number of repeat offenders by 66 percent.

He says it also helps to save money in jail costs.O'Rourke says people who would otherwise be fined can now pay off the fines through sweat equity. Maybe even cleaning up some of their own messes. O'Rourke says he's talking with Municipal Court judges and the City Council about the creation of a community court in Yakima.

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