The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council of Anderson County released results today from the survey distributed to the more than 75 representatives from local, county, and state agencies who attended its inaugural informational meeting.
“Encouraged” was the general consensus concerning the focused collaboration and enhanced communication that the design of this Council will foster across the county. Stakeholders “strongly agreed” that the entire criminal justice system could benefit from system-wide data collection and analysis, as well as collaborative planning and decision-making. Additionally, survey results demonstrated participant interest and focus in addressing the following aspects of the criminal justice system:
These results, which are representative of the 56 individual surveys completed, will guide initial data collection efforts over the next four months. Following the initial data collection phase, CJCC staff will analyze the data sets and present preliminary recommendations to the CJCC. The CJCC, aiming to improve quality of service and minimize inefficiencies in the local criminal justice system, will then establish County-specific goals and implement collaborative strategies.
The CJCC, only the second of its kind in South Carolina, was created at the recommendation of the National Institute of Corrections following its recent Jail and Justice System Assessment in Anderson County. The purpose of the organization is to make sustainable, data-driven improvements to the County’s criminal justice system.