Safety + Justice Challenge (SJC) – What is it?

• The Safety + Justice Challenge is an initiative to reduce over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails.
• The Safety + Justice Challenge is supporting a network of competitively selected local jurisdictions committed to finding ways to safely reduce jail incarceration.
• The initiative – an initial five-year, $100 million investment by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation – features a competition to help jurisdictions across the country create fairer, more effective local justice systems.
• Download Safety + Justice Challenge Overview

Lucas County’s Challenge

• Reduce local pre- and post-sentence jail population by 29% - 32%
• Improve community safety
• Address racial and ethnic disparities

Lucas County's Success

Problem

• More than half of the individuals released from the jail have mental illness and/or substance use needs. Low-level offenders represent 25% of the jail population, and African Americans make up 57% of those held in jail for the three most common misdemeanor charges.
• African Americans make up 19% of the general county population, yet represent 58% of custodial arrests over the last five years.
• Pretrial release options and case processing time impact average length of stay in jail
• An estimated 32% of the sentenced jail population is incarcerated due to technical violations of probation.

Solutions

• Expanded diversion opportunities for low-level offenses and continued law enforcement training on topics including implicit bias and procedural justice to help reduce racial and ethnic disparities.
• Increased access to risk assessment scores will be used to inform who is in the jail and electronic monitoring will continue to be offered as a release alternative.
• The Population Review Team continues to address expedited case processing, and a collaboration between public defenders and case managers better connects those with felony charges to mental health, housing, and substance use resources.
• A coordinator facilitated collaboration among probation authorities to achieve better outcomes for probationers, reducing violations resulting in a return to jail which led to the hiring of a suburban ORAS officer.

Investment in Lucas County

Lucas County SJC Strategies

• One – Law Enforcement Practices
• Two – Managing Based on Risk
• Three – Expedited Case Processing
• Four – Diversion of Underserved Populations
• Five – Coordinated Community Corrections Practices
• Six – Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities