Criminal justice coordinating councils

 

Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (CJCC’s) are county-based councils created to coordinate and improve the components of the local criminal justice system. They were introduced in 2022 through SB179, Criminal Justice Amendments (T. Weiler) and are authorized under Utah Code §17E-2-201.

 

The councils were a key outcome of the 2021 Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) Listening Tour, during which the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) held nine meetings statewide to hear feedback from local stakeholders. From those discussions, the concept of locally controlled CJCC’s emerged, and CCJJ worked with the legislature to put this new policy into practice.

By allowing counties to write their own strategic plans for criminal justice reform, the state recognized that every county has unique needs for justice reform and recidivism reduction.

 

State law requires each council to develop and implement a strategic plan for the county’s criminal justice system that includes:

• Mapping all systems, resources, assets, and services within the criminal justice system
• Creating a plan for data sharing across the system
• Establishing objectives for reducing recidivism
• Strengthening community reintegration goals, including strategies to connect individuals on probation, parole, or leaving jail or prison (including those under the custody of the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services) with housing, employment, mental health services, substance use treatment, and related resources

Who serves on a CJCC?

Each council must include:

• One county commissioner or council member
• The county sheriff or designee
• One municipal police chief within the county or designee
• The county attorney or designee
• One public defender of defense attorney who practices within the county
• One district court judge
• One justice county judge
• One representative from Adult Probation and Parole (Utah Department of Corrections)
• One representative from the county’s local mental health authority
• One crime victim or advocate, as defined in Section 77-38-403

Councils may also include representatives from local government, human services programs, higher education, peer support services, workforce services, local housing services, mental health or substance use disorder providers,  health care organizations located within the county, homelessness councils, family counseling and support organizations, organizations that work with families of incarcerated individuals, or individuals with lived experience in the criminal justice system.

Note: Only elected county officials serving on the council may be chosen as Chair. Counties may also join together to form a multi-county CJCC.