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SMART JUSTICE CAMPAIGN

   

 August  13,  2014    Spokane  County  Board  of  Commissioners  Spokane  County  Courthouse  1116  West  Broadway  Ave  Spokane,  WA  99260  Sent  via  Email    Dear  Spokane  County  Board  of  Commissioners,    

We  are  writing  to  follow  up  on  the  letter  that  the  Smart  Justice  Campaign  sent  to  you  on  May  6th  about  the  creation  of  the  Law  and  Justice  Council.  We  did  not  receive  a  response  or  an  acknowledgment  of  receipt.    We  are  writing  again  to  reinforce  our  May  6th  comments  and  to  address  additional  specific  concerns  regarding  the  membership  of  the  Law  and  Justice  Council.  We  are  pleased  that  the  Law  and  Justice  Council  is  finally  convening  and  beginning  its  work.  We  believe  that  our  input  on  additional  members  to  include  on  the  Council,  as  well  as  specific  work  groups  to  create  would  greatly  enhance  the  Law  and  Justice  Council’s  work  to  successfully  implement  criminal  justice  reforms.    

To  quote  the  Blueprint  for  Reform:  “The  Spokane  Regional  Criminal  Justice  Commission  (SRCJC)  was  formed  by  City  of  Spokane  and  Spokane  County  administration  with  the  goal  of  exploring  current  operations  and  efficiencies,  identifying  duplication  of  services,  and  developing  a  blueprint  for  successful  reform  that  better  meets  the  needs  of  those  processed  through  our  criminal  justice  system  (Blueprint  for  Reform,  page  5,  1st  sentence).”  In  order  to  “better  meet  the  needs  of  those  processed  through  our  criminal  justice  system,”  the  Smart  Justice  Campaign  believes  that  it  is  critically  important  to  have  community  members  most  impacted  by  the  system  serve  on  the  Law  and  Justice  Council  (people  of  color;  people  with  disabilities;  people  with  mental  illness  and  addictions;  ex-­‐offenders;  and/or  family  members)  to  ensure  that  reforms  better  meet  needs  of  those  most  impacted,  and  “reform  the  system  to  an  offender  centered,  rather  than  offense  centered  (Blueprint  for  Reform,  page  6).”  

For  this  reason,  we  recommend  that  two  citizen  positions  be  added  to  the  Council  –  one  from  the  County  and  one  from  the  City  of  Spokane  that  come  from  disproportionately  affected  communities.    

With  sweeping  criminal  justice  reform  and  law  revisions,  it  must  be  acknowledged  there  will  be  enormous  considerations  when  it  comes  to  personnel  and  assets.  We  recommend  that  two  Labor  representatives  be  added  to  the  Council,  one  from  the  County  and  one  from  the  City  of  Spokane.    In  addition,  we  would  like  to  see  a  City  of  Spokane  public  defender  added  to  the  Council.  While  we  

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understand  that  70%  of  Spokane  County’s  budget  goes  to  the  criminal  justice  system,  it  is  important  that  we  have  members  on  the  Council  from  both  the  County  and  the  City  of  Spokane  that  represent  “pockets  of  excellence”  that  will  help  inform  and  guide  system  wide  implementation  of  proven  programs  (Blueprint  for  Reform  page  5).    

Without  the  involvement  and  expertise  of  those  most  impacted  and  other  experts  throughout  the  system,  we  fear  that  our  community  will  be  going  through  another  ultimately  unsuccessful  exercise  to  attempt  criminal  justice  reform  at  the  expense  of  those  that  benefit  most  from  comprehensive  reform  and  the  taxpayers  who  continue  to  foot  the  bill  without  any  results.    

We  trust  that  the  Law  and  Justice  Council  will  make  it  a  priority  in  the  first  year  to  hire  an  Administrator  to  lead  this  independent  governing  body  to  coordinate  reforms,  implement  evidenced  based  programs,  and  issue  system-­‐wide  performance  measures  (or  “report  cards”).    The  Administrator  position  is  central  to  the  structural  reform  recommended  by  the  Spokane  Regional  Criminal  Justice  Commission  and  the  Smart  Justice  Campaign.      

Additionally,  when  the  Council  forms  subcommittees  or  workgroups,  we  advocate  for  the  formation  of  the  following  subcommittees:  Racial  Disproportionality;  Mental  Health;  Restorative  Justice,  Alternative  to  Incarceration  and  Diversion;  Technology  and  Facilities;  and  Risk/Needs  Assessments.  The  Racial  Disproportionality  work  group  is  important  to  develop  and  implement  assessments  and  report  cards  to  implement  the  goal  proposed  by  the  SRCJC  to:  “ensure  that  all  criminal  justice  departments  make  a  commitment  to  achieving  racial  equity  in  our  systems,  and  to  building  culturally  appropriate  programs  and  support  services  for  offenders  (Blueprint  for  Reform,  page  23,  Recommendation  5.1  (2)).”  

The  Blueprint  for  Reform  is  a  landmark  document  that  lays  out  clear,  evidence-­‐based  recommendations  with  a  plan  and  a  timeline.  Both  the  Mayor  of  Spokane  and  the  Spokane  County  Board  of  Commissioners  directed  the  three-­‐member  Spokane  Regional  Criminal  Justice  Commission  to  research,  ask  the  tough  questions,  and  develop  specific  recommendations  to  direct  comprehensive  criminal  justice  reform.  Now  it  is  time  for  the  Law  and  Justice  Council  to  lead  our  community  forward.    

We  hope  you  will  look  to  the  Smart  Justice  Campaign  as  a  resource  to  support  and  assist  in  any  way  as  the  Law  and  Justice  Council  begins  its  work  to  help  ensure  a  successful  comprehensive  reform  of  our  criminal  justice  system.    

Respectfully,  

The  Smart  Justice  Campaign  Coalition  

Cc:    

Mayor  David  Condon  

Council  President  Ben  Stuckart  

Spokane  City  Council  Members  

Jackie  van  Wormer  

Gloria  Ochoa  

John  Dickson