Olympia City Council creates temporary committee to recommend criminal justice reforms
The Olympia City Council has created a temporary committee that will bring criminal justice reform recommendations to the full council.
The council did not agree on specific reforms Tuesday, but wants the committee to find “low-hanging fruit” and easy reforms the council can implement quickly.
In addition to the ad hoc committee, the city council also will add work sessions for “reimagining public safety” to its calendar. The council did not create a timeline for the ad hoc committee’s first meeting or when it will bring recommendations before the city council.
The committee will consist of Mayor Cheryl Selby and council members Jim Cooper and Clark Gilman.
“After we get the first meeting of the ad hoc under way, I think that will help provide some clarity about where we go from here,” City Manager Jay Burney said. “I see that group as kind of the steering committee for the rest of the council as far as keeping the conversation moving forward, and making the best use of those work sessions.”
The new committee is in addition to the Social Justice and Equity Advisory Commission the council began to create over the summer. The commission’s name has changed numerous times, but its purpose is to give the public a voice in making the city more equitable. Staff will give the council an update on the commission Oct. 20.
The purpose of Tuesday’s work session was to discuss what, specifically, the council wants to accomplish when it comes to criminal justice reforms, or providing public safety. The meeting included a brief history of the U.S. criminal justice system and the discussion included information about what the council could control, versus what it could influence.
“We are being asked to do it all,” Cooper said. “This conversation is ‘How do we filter that into what is within our realm and possible today?’ To me, that really starts with telling our story better.”
Cooper said the purpose of the work session was to figure out what is possible for the council to reform quickly. He noted that the city council has already completed many reforms in the police department, but that people still struggle to explain those reforms.
Cooper said residents want to see and understand the city’s new model of police accountability before “we are in the middle of a crisis in our own city.”
“This Equity Commission isn’t going to get us that,” Cooper said. “We do have a need to define ‘public safety’ or call it what it is, which is to reinvent what accountability looks like.”
Nancy Campbell, an evidence-based practices expert with Sabot Consulting, facilitated the discussion for the city council. She is a well-known speaker in the criminal justice field and has assisted jurisdictions across the U.S. in implementing criminal justice reforms. Campbell has 30 years of experience as an executive for public and nonprofit agencies.
At the end of the work session, Campbell agreed to continue assisting the city council with criminal justice reforms for free. She noted that she sees numerous reforms the city can implement without touching the budget.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 5:45 AM.