Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils
What is a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council?
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.
What does a CJCC do?
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.
Reporting Requirements
Each CJCC must submit a written report to the CCJJ before November 30 of each year, detailing the implementation of its strategic plan and providing data on the council’s impact on the local criminal justice system.
Councils
Beaver County CJCC
Wade Hollingshead Commissioner
435-438-6464
Box Elder County CJCC
Lee Perry Commissioner
435-734-3347
Cache/Rich CJCC
Sandi Goodlander Cache Councilmember
435-994-2305
Carbon/Emery CJCC
Christian Bryner Carbon County Attorney
435-636-3240
Duchesne County CJCC
Jeff Chugg Commissioner
435-738-1130
Davis County CJCC
Lorene Kamalu Commissioner
801-451-3200
Grand County CJCC
Mike McCurdy Commissioner
435-259-1342
Iron/Garfield CJCC
Mike Bleak Commissioner
435-590-9666
Kane County CJCC
Patty Kubeja Commissioner
435-644-4901
Millard County CJCC
Trevor Johnson Commissioner
435-406-5620
Salt Lake County CJAC
Jenny Wilson County Mayor
385-468-7092
San Juan County CJCC
Jamie Harvey Commissioner
435-587-3223
Six County CJCC
Marvin Kenison Juab Commissioner
435-623-3402
Summit County CJCC
Megan McKenna Councilmember
435-336-3200
Tooele County CJAC
Kendall Thomas Councilmember
435-843-3150
Uintah Basin CJCC
John Laursen Uintah Commissioner435-781-5380
Utah County CJCC
Jeff Gray County Attorney
801-851-8026
Wasatch County CJCC
Kendall Crittendon Commissioner
435-657-3180
Washington County CJCC
Victor Iverson Commissioner
435-301-7000
Weber/Morgan County CJCC
Sharon Bolos Commissioner
801-399-8589