Forming a CJCC: Helpful Hints

Helpful Hint: Identify a Champion. Have a local leader in criminal justice serve as a champion for your CJCC efforts. This champion varies from jurisdiction, but it must be someone with vision and leadership skills who can build trust with other stakeholders. Oftentimes the champion is a judge because they are trained to be fair and impartial; however, it could be a district attorney, county manager, sheriff, or chief of police with a passion for this work. Often more partners are willing to spend their time on this collaboration if they know it is supported at a high level.

Helpful Hint: Get a minimum of a one-year commitment from key stakeholders for thier participation when establishing a CJCC. Additionally, it can be helpful to decide upon 2-3 goals to launch the work of the CJCC.

Geographic Scope:

Helpful Hint: If the proposed CJCC will represent several localities that may include numerous law enforcement agencies, it will be necessary to determine how to best ensure representation with the need to keep the CJCC membership to a manageable and functional size. It may be preferable to select one representative from certain categories to maintain a manageable size for a CJCC. For example, If the proposed CJCC will represent localities that may include numerous law enforcement agencies, it will be necessary to determine how to best ensure representation to align with the need to keep the CJCC membership to a manageable and functional size.

 

Complete a Stakeholder Anaylsis:

Helpful Hint: Victims’ advocates, justice involved citizens and key community partners and non-profits are often missing from the table. A great way to identify who is not represented, is to map your system or start by listing your key decision points, people and agencies impacted and involved at each point.

Helpful Hint: CJCCs also benefit from involving community leaders who are not justice system experts and have no specific interest in any part of the justice system. Community representatives can establish a sense of altruism in the CJCC by insisting, “we expect you to get along together. We expect you to solve these problems.” They may also ask discerning questions.