May 13, 2017 Juliette Daniels

Part One: The Illusion of Inclusion: How County-appointed Councils, Panels, Committees and Task Forces provided: (1) Cover for Executive decisions about crucial criminal justice issues; and (2) plausible deniability for the exclusion of meaningful public participation.

There has been no shortage of Criminal Justice Councils, Panels, Committees and Task Forces (CPCTFs) appointed by Whatcom County Executives and leaders to study and make recommendations about the Whatcom County criminal justice system. There has been little meaningful citizen participation in these CPCTFs, because they are heavily weighted with public officials and government employees. For decades, these CPCTFs have convened, hired consultants, and have issued often conflicting reports. […]

Read Juliette’s full article on NorthwestCitizen here.