Activity 1: Build a genuine, collaborative policy team

Collaboration in the criminal justice system seeks to overcome the limitations of traditional and nonsystemic approaches to criminal justice problem solving and solution development. It brings together stakeholders to share information, develop common goals, and jointly create policies to support those goals. “Stakeholders” are defined as those who influence and have an investment in the criminal justice system’s outcomes. These systemwide stakeholder groups are referred to as policy teams.

Ideally, policy teams are comprised of the criminal justice agencies and community organizations that impact, or are impacted by, decisions that will be made by the collaborative team. The specific composition of the collaborative team varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Those with the positional power to create change within their own agencies and organizations are appropriate members of the collaborative team. The chief judge, court administrator, elected prosecutor, chief public defender and representative of the private defense bar, administrator of the community corrections agency, police chief and elected sheriff, pretrial administrator, victim advocates, local elected officials (i.e., city manager, county commissioner), service providers, and community representatives all play a part in the administration of justice and bring valuable information, resources, and perspectives to this collaborative endeavor.

Click on the documents in the navigation bar on the left for a set of activities designed to assist you in establishing a policy team and building a solid foundation for your collaborative team’s work together.

Elements of an EBDM justice system include

  1. a highly functioning collaborative policy team;
  2. a shared vision for the criminal justice system; and
  3. a track record of meaningful team accomplishments.