Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) on Track with Strategic Plan Goals
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. Today, the Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) released its 2021 Midyear Report: Strategic Plan Update (Fiscal Years 2021-2023) to update the community on the progress underway towards sustainable, data-driven improvements to Charleston’s criminal justice system. One year into the implementation of the Strategic Plan, the CJCC is on pace with the twelve initiatives in the plan.
The CJCC engaged over 1,200 community members in 2019 to inform the development of its Strategic Plan in 2020, which focuses on the following core areas: community engagement and addressing inequity, strengthening jail diversion and deflection from the criminal justice system, focusing on fairness and reentry and case processing advancements.
“While we’ve had to be flexible with changes due to COVID-19, our work remains guided by data and collaboration, our plans are deliberate, and we are making progress towards the goals laid out,” stated CJCC Project Director Kristy Danford. “As the CJCC moves into its second year of implementing the strategic plan, we are excited to keep moving forward and seeing this strategic plan to fruition.”
Also significant, the CJCC has taken important steps toward long-term sustainability and to strengthen its mission. The CJCC proposed and was awarded a two-year sustainability grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In addition, the Charleston County Council passed a resolution affirming its support of the CJCC as well as the CJCC’s goals, mission and operational function. As of July 1, 2021, Charleston County Council moved the oversight function of the CJCC to the Public Safety Directorate of Charleston County to better examine a more holistic approach to public safety. In the coming year, the CJCC will also revisit and revise its by-laws to better meet the needs of the community and to enhance collaboration.
“Community engagement is crucial to our ongoing efforts to improve the local criminal justice system and advance equity in the community we proudly call home,” said Lauren Williams, CJCC Community Representative, Partner, Williams & Walsh, LLC. “As leaders within the criminal justice system, we’re humbly requesting the community to continue engaging with these issues, sharing their thoughts with us, and joining us as we hold ourselves accountable to advancing meaningful change.”
