June 1, 2023 Dena Jensen
This week the Whatcom County Council put out a news flash announcement requesting that community members provide feedback to the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force about the draft version of the Justice Project Implementation Plan. I sent an email in today that will be included in this blog post.
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May 21, 2023 Dena Jensen
In this post you will find the content of the meeting summaries of the Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force that are currently available so far for 2023. This is a period when the focus of the Task Force has more prominently centered on the intersection of their work with Whatcom County’s Justice Project.
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April 24, 2023 Dena Jensen
Here’s something to be aware of. The current Whatcom County Undersheriff, Doug Chadwick, who also is one of the candidates running to replace Bill Elfo as Sheriff in the November 2023 election, indicated that he wants to ensure that the County will be able to double the size of a proposed new jail in the years ahead and favors building on a property that would accommodate the size of a horizontal design, i.e. the property purchased for a jail in Ferndale years ago.
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September 25, 2019 Dena Jensen
Here is a link at which you can access the video of the September 23, 2019 Whatcom County Justice Updates event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLQVQef10mo
Below is the email I sent to members of the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force today regarding that event:
To: jnixon@co.whatcom.wa.us <jnixon@co.whatcom.wa.us>
Cc: Barry Buchanan <bbuchana@co.whatcom.wa.us>
Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 01:57:18 PM PDT
Subject: Regarding the 9/23/19 Whatcom County Justice Updates event and addressing issues related to trust
Dear Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force Members:
Continue readingI recently watched the video of the Whatcom County Justice Updates event that was held on Monday, September 23, 2019. I wanted to address the issue of trust that was one of the focuses of the meeting.
November 12, 2017 Irene Morgan, Founder, Restorative Community Coalition
A hardy THANK YOU to everyone who stood tall in opposition to the now defunct jail tax – Proposition 2017- 6. You did NOT “Stand Down”, it was NOT a “Done Deal”, the “Ship had NOT Sailed”, the “Train is STILL in the Station” and it was NOT “a waste of our time”! The voters said NO, with an even greater margin – again! Continue reading
Click the graphic to go to the meeting calendar for the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force
September 22, 2017 Dena Jensen
Here’s my latest letter to the council regarding the need to renovate the existing jail facility now. It was sent to council@co.whatcom.wa.us, and copied to all the city councils, the County Executive, and the Sheriff. Keep writing and calling!
Dear Whatcom County Council:
I am writing to call on you to move forward as quickly as possible with renovations on our existing Whatcom County Jail facility on Grand Ave., that will address necessary and critical life safety issues. Continue reading
September 15, 2017 Dena Jensen
On September 12, 2017, Lauri Strauss, CEO of design2 Last, gave a presentation to the Whatcom County Council’s Finance and Adminstrative Services Committee regarding anticipated renovation to the existing county jail facility located adjacent to the Whatcom County Courthouse in downtown Bellingham. Continue reading
On Monday, July 10, The Vera Institute presented its preliminary data findings on the Whatcom County justice system at a special meeting of the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force (IPRTF). It took months for the Vera Institute to obtain the necessary data on the County Jail population in 2016, but the results confirmed stunning racial disparities in the jailed population, as well as a sizable pre-trial population that could be significantly reduced with the use of evidence-based methods of incarceration prevention. Continue reading
May 11, 2017 Dena Jensen
I got an email from Sheriff Elfo this morning in response to an email I wrote back on March 30, to the Jail Stakeholder Work Group (my email is shown in the graphic). This resistance-is-futile kind of quote from the Sheriff bugs me the most: “Despite all that is being done and can be done outside the context of the jail, there will continue to be a need for a jail. The law requires it.” Continue reading
noisy waters northwest 
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