A vision is a statement that paints a picture of the future that you hope to create (e.g., a statement of your preferred future). It captures your hopes of what will result from your council's efforts. It represents a future for which your council is willing to take responsibility for attempting to achieve. It will likely take time and hard work to develop a vision for your council, and that vision may change over time. Nonetheless, the vision will:

• inspire your council to come to meetings when the press of other business grows strong;
• guide your council's course of action; and
• help secure the support for change from your colleagues and community.

Activity for Vision Setting:

• Consider the following questions:
  1. If the criminal justice system in our jurisdiction were working ideally, what would be its characteristics?
  2. What results would it achieve?
  3. What values would guide how these goals are achieved?
• Council members should take a few minutes to jot down their ideas about each of these questions. When they are finished, go around the room and record each person's first response on a flip chart. Go around the room again and note each person's second response. Continue this process until all ideas are recorded for all three questions.
• Review the ideas generated. Discuss each one and ensure that its meaning is clear. Eliminate duplications. To answer each question, develop a statement or set of statements that reflects the consensus of the council.
• If multiple statements are produced, prioritize these by asking each member to rank order the statements, then tally the "votes" for each statement. Select the portions of the prioritized statements that resonate with council members.
• From these, craft a single vision statement that reflects all of the agreed-upon ideas and comments.
• This process may take some time; you may not be able to complete this work in one session or even as a full council. Often it is useful to form a subcommittee to craft a proposed vision statement based on the concepts/statements developed by the full council

Tips:

• Remember that your vision statement should be energizing and inspiring and, when completed, describe your hopes for the future.
• Avoid getting hung up on your current situation, limitations, or tasks needed to reach your vision. The vision statement is about where you want to go and why.
• Keep it simple. Your vision statement should be easy to explain and easily understood by non-council members. Avoid jargon.
• Keep it short. The details belong in your mission statement and goals.
• Work on your vision statement until it truly represents the hopes of everyone on the council. It should be a powerful and compelling statement.
• Use the vision statement as a touchstone for your ongoing efforts. Once it is completed, display your statement during each meeting.
• Revisit your vision statement from time to time, and change it as your work together evolves.(1c: Creating a Vision for Your Policy Team | Evidence-Based Decision Making, n.d.)

Example Vision Statements:

Sauk County, WI:
Seeks to ensure a criminal justice system that is fair and just: A system supporting a safe and healthy community for the residents of Sauk County; A system offering accessible opportunities for individuals to change the direction of their lives; A system making evidence based, data-driven choices to ensure that the public’s resources are used responsibly.

Hennepin County, MN:
We envision a future where residents are healthy and successful and where our communities are safe and vibrant. We will strive to meet and exceed expectations by engaging people and communities in developing innovative solutions to challenges. We will be a diverse, learning organization. We will partner with others to enhance the quality of life in Hennepin County and the region.

Kalamazoo County, MI:
Seeks to be the safest, most just, and restorative community in the nation.

Mission Statements:

Charleston County, SC:
The mission of the CJCC is to assist in making sustainable, data-driven improvements to Charleston County’s criminal justice system (CJS) and thereby improve public safety and community well-being. The CJCC strives to achieve a local CJS that improves public safety, upholds justice and cost-effectively uses taxpayer dollars.

District of Columbia:
The mission of the CJCC is to serve as the District of Columbia’s forum for District and federal members to identify cross-cutting local criminal and juvenile justice system issues and achieve coordinated solutions for the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

An example of guiding principles for Charleston County, SC:
CJCC works to advance safety and justice for the citizens of Charleston County, the effective and just treatment of defendants and offenders, the protection and healing of victims, and toward the prevention of crime and reduction of recidivism. Therefore, the

 

CJCC is guided by the following principles:

1. Every interaction with the criminal justice system offers an opportunity to:
   1. contribute to the reduction of harm
   2. Improved outcomes are achieved through collaboration at individual, agency, and system levels.
2. Professional judgement of criminal justice decision makers is enhanced when informed by evidence-based knowledge.
3. The criminal justice system will continually learn and improve effectiveness and efficiency when professionals make decisions based on the collection, analysis, and use of data and information.
4. To advance the administration of justice requires ongoing research and evaluation, technical and adaptive leadership, and innovative uses of criminal justice system resources[AB1] .

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