Criminal Justice Advisory Group - CJAG
December 9, 2015
MINUTES
HANDOUTS
- Meeting Agenda
- Meeting Minutes 10/14/15
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER at 8:38am
Welcome
Chris Peek welcomes everyone to the meeting and asked for brief introductions. Members approved
the October minutes by consensus.
County Manager Remarks and Discussion
Dena Diorio thanked everyone for the invitation to speak to the group. Diorio briefly introduced
herself to the group and discussed her professional background. Diorio stated that she would like
to spend more time over the next year working with the CJAG and its members on criminal justice
issues. Diorio noted that the jail population is down 38 percent since 2009 and that she’s very proud
of the County’s jail diversion programs. She wants to continue to work with the CJAG and its
members to make data-driven decisions that will allow the County to invest in the criminal justice
system while also recouping some of those investments in order to fund other initiatives.
Diorio stated that the County is in the midst of a strategic planning process and one of the themes
that has emerged from the County’s Executive Team is “optimizing the investment in criminal
justice”. The County is looking forward to working with the CJAG and its members to pursue this
goal.
Diorio shared that the County has hired a consultant to study the County’s child protective services.
The County is awaiting the final report and expects that there will be recommendations for systemic
changes in how the County manages child welfare.
Kevin Tully gave the background of the CJAG and stated that criminal justice is a local issue that is
often funded locally. Due to differences in local funding there are often disparate levels of service
across the state. The State addressed this by moving to a unified system in which the state funds a
minimum level of service in all counties. Due to Mecklenburg County’s involvement with the CJAG,
the local justice system has been able to create programs and services that would otherwise not
have been possible due to lack of state funding. The CJAG provides a forum for a group discussion
regarding justice system improvements rather than the County only receiving individual agency
perspectives. This collaborative effort has resulted, and continues to result, in holistic improvements
to the local justice system.
Tully continued by briefly outlining some of the benefits that have resulted from CJAG. The County
has fast track programs to settle certain cases quickly. There are treatment courts to enable
individuals to receive the treatment that they need. Public Defender staffing at first appearance court
has resulted in same day notice for public defenders instead of three days. The District Attorney’s
Office now has a unit designed specifically to deal with individuals deemed to be habitual felons.
CJAG members came together to reform local bail policies to begin to move to risk-based bail setting.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, due to all of these benefits and others, there was no need to
build the proposed $275 million jail. All of this has resulted in Mecklenburg County’s national
reputation as a leader in the criminal justice field.
Andrew Murray stated that the CJAG meetings are talked about nationally. Coordinating Councils,
like the CJAG, are a national best practice but they are still not as widespread as we might think.
Even though the CJAG has become standard practice in Mecklenburg, there are other jurisdictions
where this is not the case.
Todd Nuccio shared that the local justice system is much further along with funding, coordination,
and cooperation than they were ten years ago and that this would not be possible without the
County’s support.
1
Criminal Justice Advisory Group - CJAG
December 9, 2015
MINUTES
Rob Hunter shared that the electronic Arrest Worksheet was created due to the efforts of the CJAG
and the IT workgroup. County support led to the creation of this worksheet which has drastically
reduced the amount of time that officers are off of the street while processing an arrest. Felicia
McAdoo stated that she most appreciates the opportunity for collaboration that is presented by the
CJAG. Regan Miller echoed this sentiment and stated that there would be a big loss to the County
and the local justice system if the CJAG were ever to be abandoned.
Home, Street, Neighborhood, and Community Campaign Updates
Home Campaign
Rob Hunter and Marie White updated the group on the Home Campaign, which is working on an
offender focused approach to intimate partner violence based on the High Point Model. There is an
upcoming grant designed to offer technical assistance in the implementation of the High Point
Model. The Home Campaign plans to apply for this grant and more information will be made
available when the final grant details are released.
Street Campaign
Sarah Greene and Todd Nuccio updated the group on the Street Campaign, which is focused on
frequent front end users of the justice system. The campaign has identified four opportunities for
improvement in the local justice system: 1) Early blended diversion for homelessness; 2) A mental
health crisis center; 3) A peer respite center; and, 4) Employment opportunities for individuals with
mental illness/disability. The group is finalizing a proposal that will be presented to the Board of
County Commissioners in early 2016 to address the need for additional homelessness diversion
services. The group also has sub-committees working on proposals for each of the other three
priority focus areas.
Neighborhood Campaign
Robyn Withrow and Katrina Watson updated the group on the Neighborhood Campaign, which is
focused on improving the citizen-initiated complaint process and the citizen warrant court. This
process allow for citizens to seek charges against an individual directly from a magistrate and, if
probable cause is found, to have a summons or warrant issued. An initial study of this issue found
that 80-90% of citizen-initiated complaints where probable cause is found are ultimately dismissed.
In an attempt to better understand this outcome, and how to improve the system, CJS contracted
with the Center for Court Innovation and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to conduct a
thorough study of this issue. The final report is expected soon and the Neighborhood Campaign will
then work to implement the report’s recommendations.
Community Campaign
Felicia McAdoo updated the group on the Community Campaign, which is focused on improving the
reentry process for individuals returning to Mecklenburg County from incarceration. The campaign
has partnered with Reentry Partners of Mecklenburg (RPM), the local reentry council, in order to
address the needs of this community. The Community campaign is currently planning a Community
Education and Engagement Event scheduled for spring 2016. This event will bring together vendors,
the CSL expungement clinic, and various resources and information designed for the reentry
population and their families. The Community Campaign is also working with housing partners to
identify additional beds in the community for these individuals. Finally, the Community Campaign is
working to strengthen the partnership between the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and CJS
while simultaneously aligning the reentry efforts of both organizations.
Update on MacArthur Foundation Safety + Justice Challenge
Melissa Neal updated the group on the status of the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety + Justice
Challenge (SJC). The SJC has two main goals: 1) to safely reduce the jail population, and 2) identify
and address any racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Neal stated that the MacArthur
Foundation has challenged Mecklenburg County to identify strategies that will reduce the local jail
population by 15% over the next three years. To reach this goal, the SJC core planning group has
identified the following three strategies.
2
Criminal Justice Advisory Group - CJAG
December 9, 2015
MINUTES
Automate and move the Pretrial Public Safety Assessment (PSA)
Carol Hickey informed the group that this strategy involves working to automate the completion of
the PSA and providing magistrates access to the PSA data when making their initial bond decisions.
The combination of these two changes will provide evidence-based risk assessment scores to the
magistrates and will allow for initial bond decisions to be made based on the risk that each individual
poses to the community.
Equitable Workforce Development Program
Elisa Chinn-Gary informed the group that the goal of this strategy is to build on the work undertaken
with Race Matters for Juvenile Justice (RMJJ) and to develop a similar structure in the adult system.
Chinn-Gary stated that there is an opportunity to impact public perception of the justice system in
positive way as well as an opportunity to reduce disproportionality while enhancing the workforce.
This strategy is two-pronged and includes formation of a leadership collaborative and a workforce
development program. The workforce development program will include an assessment process and
a training process, both of which will be developed collaboratively at the local level.The program will
explore the potential use of objective tools within participating agencies, and will engage leadership
to examine policies and practices to find opportunities for reform. Chinn-Gary states that there are
still many details to be finalized but that she is excited about this strategy. Once finalized, the
program will be piloted with several agencies within the local adult justice system.
Implementation of a local policy addressing Class 3 misdemeanors
Judge Elizabeth Trosch informed the group that this strategy was identified to address the need to
safely reduce jail population. The General Assembly has legislated that individuals charged with a
Class 3 misdemeanor with fewer than four prior convictions cannot be jailed, given probation, nor
serve a jail sentence of any kind. For these individuals, the only possible sentence is a fine.
This strategy proposes diverting these individuals at the magistrate level. Trosch shared that under
this policy, individuals whose most serious charge at the time of arrest is a Class 3 misdemeanor,
and who also have fewer than four prior convictions, will be released with appropriate release
conditions (Written Promise, Custody Release, Unsecured Bond, etc.). Under this policy, magistrates
would have discretion to impose more restrictive release conditions on individuals who are
rearrested within 90 days of a prior Class 3 offense. The magistrate may also impose more restrictive
release conditions on those individuals whose most serious charge at the time of arrest is a Class 3
misdemeanor but who also have more than four prior convictions. The planning group anticipates
that this policy will significantly reduce bookings, recidivism, and FTAs for these defendants.
Open Discussion
Kevin Tully thanked Chris Peek, Carol Hickey, and CJS staff for all of their efforts in facilitating the
CJAG meetings and projects.
MEETING ADJOURNED at 10:00am.
Action Items:
1. None
3
Criminal Justice Advisory Group - CJAG
December 9, 2015
MINUTES
Name
Hazen Blodgett
Fonda Cliffton
Darius Deese
Dena Diorio
Erika Emerson
Jeff Estes
Sarah Greene
Reggie Grier
Michael Griswold
Carol Hickey
Fallon Hopkins
Rob Hunter
Jessica Ireland
James Justice
Tim Ledford
Stacy Lowry
Felicia McAdoo
Jeanne Miller
Regan Miller
Andrew Murray
Melissa Neal
Todd Nuccio
Sarah O'Brien
Chris Peek
Willa Smith
Cleveland Spruill
Elizabeth Trosch
Kevin Tully
Katrina Watson
Marie White
Robyn Withrow
Position/Agency
Matthews Town Manager
Child Support Enforcement
Adult Probation
County Manager
Criminal Justice Services
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Health Department
Criminal Justice Services
Criminal Justice Services
County Manager's Office
Criminal Justice Services
Matthews Police Chief
Criminal Justice Services
Davidson Town Manager
Mint Hill Police Chief
Community Support Services
Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office
Davidson Police Chief
Chief District Court Judge
District Attorney
Criminal Justice Services
Trial Court Administrator
Criminal Justice Services
County Manager's Office
Criminal Justice Services
Huntersville Police Chief
District Court
Public Defender
Chief Magistrate
Community Support Services
District Attorney's Office
4