HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Council March 13 20011
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Special County Council
March 13, 2001
The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Council Chair L. Ward
Nelson in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
Also Present: Absent:
Dan McShane Barbara Brenner
Sam Crawford Connie Hoag
L. Ward Nelson
Robert Imhof
LAW AND JUSTICE (AB2000 -100)
Pete Kremen, County Executive, stated he was pleased to welcome everyone
to unveil the product that many individuals who make up the Law and Justice
Council have been working on for several months. Many were doubtful when this
process began. It has worked extremely well. The product of the Law and Justice
Council in terms of its recommendations is extremely impressive and visionary. He
was proud of and pleased with the results of the council in determining where the
priorities are, what the programs are going to be, and mapping out a vision for the
criminal justice needs in Whatcom County.
There were many individuals in this large group. That was an issue in terms
of whether or not the process would work. It was the goal of this administration
and the recommendation of the consultants for phase I of the plan to enlist all
facets of the community in law and justice, and get the public to participate. It has
worked. Special recognition is reserved for Chair Kathleen Marshall. She
introduced the members of the council. He also thanked Deputy Administrator
Dewey Desler, who worked on this process before he was hired as the County's
Deputy Administrator.
Kathleen Marshall, Law and Justice Council Chair, stated she was appointed
in November. She worked on the Law and Justice Steering Committee for over a
year. This has been exciting to see the fruits of their labor. It is a very large
council. The members are listed in the packet.
Kremen stated there were two special individuals who were involved, the two
staff members from the Northwest Regional Council (NWRC), Kathy Mohebbi and
Nat Dickenson.
Marshall stated there are many familiar faces and new faces on the council.
Over half of the members are community members, and there are seven mayors.
This is an experiment in bringing the stakeholders to the table. It has been
threatening to the justice system in a sense. However, all made a commitment to
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 1
1 ensure that community members were involved in every step of the process. She
2 described the process.
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4 The process was done quickly to get the resources into the justice system
5 quickly. However, they did not take any short cuts. A formal request for proposals
6 (RFP) process was done in December. The council formed five groups of people to
7 serve as evaluation teams regarding a management information system,
8 community -based corrections, law enforcement, juvenile justice, and the courts.
9 Initially there were 30 additional service requests (ASR's) that came to the County
10 Council. Many came forth as applications to the Law and Justice Council. One
11 criterion for the evaluation teams was that they had to include at least two
12 community members. They also invited applicants to the meetings and asked for
13 their input to answer questions. If a member of the team was also an applicant,
14 the person was treated as an applicant at the time the application was discussed.
15 They were called for questions and they did not vote on their own proposals. The
16 Law and Justice Council got 22 proposals. All were outstanding. One criterion was
17 that they had to address at least one of the recommendations included in the Law
18 and Justice Plan. All the applications did at least that. Unfortunately, the requests
19 totaled $3.8 million for the two -year period. The council needed to cut back to $1.8
20 million. Each team was given training in how to score the proposals and "big
21 picture" training. They were given an overview of all the law and justice systems,
22 such as the juvenile justice system. On February 14, after the teams met, the 15
23 member Executive Committee met and the conveners came forward to give their
24 rationale for prioritizing projects. In this meeting, they pared back the proposals.
25 There wasn't one single incident of one person putting his or her own interest
26 ahead of the entire justice system. The decisions were unanimous. There was not
27 any dissention.
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29 Manca Valum, Law and Justice Council Member, stated she would explain the
30 proposals that have been recommended for first steps in the implementation of the
31 Whatcom County Law and Justice Plan. First, she wanted to talk about vision.
32 When this group was originally formed as the steering committee, it was charged
33 with the responsibility of looking at the law and justice system in Whatcom County
34 as a whole and to generate a vision of what the future of law and justice could look
35 like for this community. They have met that challenge and come up with an
36 incredible product, which is the plan.
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38 Today, they will look at specific pieces to implement that plan. Aristotle said,
39 "Justice is man's salvation, and the preservation of justice belongs to the polis."
40 The Law and Justice Council presents recommendations for funding. These
41 proposals have been recommended because they are the most effective, affordable,
42 and currently readily available strategies to further the cause of justice in Whatcom
43 County. Each proposal plays a critical role in increasing public safety, decreasing
44 recidivism, increasing the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the law and justice
45 system, and increasing access to justice for all citizens, including victims, offenders,
46 and civil litigants. These proposals are the first critical steps to make sure no
47 citizen is isolated from law and justice.
48
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 2
1 Data Integration
2
3 This is the management information piece, which is the area worked on by
4 the management information committee and the evaluation team. It accomplishes
5 an increase in system -wide efficiency and effectiveness by allowing all law and
6 justice offices to access and update data without duplicate entry in real time. It is
7 seen to be fundamental to implementing the plan as a whole. It is a key
8 infrastructure piece that has to be in place.
9
10 Reorganization of District Court Probation
it
12 The funding of this proposal will reduce excessive caseloads, increase public
13 safety, increase the system's ability to move toward specialized case management,
14 and will have the ability to develop some specialized domestic violence services in
15 the Probation Division.
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17 Behavioral Health Triage System Planning Project
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19 This is intended to create an integrated behavioral health and criminal justice
20 planning and service delivery system. In the process, they will analyze the cost -
21 benefit of establishing a true triage system of care for Whatcom County and
22 analyze the potential savings to the criminal justice system by providing behavioral
23 health services to the jail population. This is a piece that has to do with improving
24 the entire system for the community.
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26 Expanded Medical Care
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28 This is not recommended at this time, but is the first priority for future
29 funding. It was difficult to say no to this, but they felt they had to say no to further
30 other pieces along at this time. It has system -wide and countywide impacts on
31 smaller municipalities.
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33 New Corrections Facility Planner
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35 This will allow for a complete needs evaluation for a new minimum security
36 facility, including the development of site requirements, cost estimates, and
37 architectural concepts. It follows along the model of planning for new institutions.
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39 Central Intake Unit
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41 This will create a space where inmates can be interviewed and criminal
42 histories accessed in order to implement objective jail classification systems, which
43 will help facilitate diversion to alternatives to incarceration as those systems are
44 developed and evolve over time. They have to have the ability to sort through
45 what they have in order to place inmates in the places that are most appropriate in
46 terms of sanctions or incarcerations. This is a cornerstone piece.
47
48 Crime Analyst
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 3
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2 This position will analyze 16 years' worth of data to help identify reoccurring
3 areas of high criminal activity and forecast criminal trends and activities in
4 Whatcom County as an adjunct to the overall master facilities planning process. It
5 is also a cornerstone piece that helps gather information to make sure they make
6 wise decisions as they continue to move forward through the implementation of the
7 plan.
8
9 Intensive Mental Health Case Coordination and Mental Health Contractual
10 Services
it
12 This will work with high -risk youth with mental health and co- occurring
13 disorders, and will develop plans for graduated sanctions from mentally disordered
14 youth that also address community safety concerns and assist in youth monitoring
15 to prevent re- offense due to the mental health issues.
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17 Detention Staff Support
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19 This is a system to track and monitor supplies and expenses, improve
20 communication between detention staff and other department divisions, and also
21 help develop demographic information for statistical reporting. It is a
22 clerical /administrative support piece to enhance the ability of the system to work at
23 its best potential.
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25 Juvenile Community Justice Center
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27 This would establish a community site for a more holistic youth offender and
28 family services model. It would also test the effectiveness of this model. It will act
29 as a catalyst for development of prevention services and serve as a diversion and
30 alternative site. There are facilities expenses in this package, but it is for lease or
31 rental, not construction.
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33 Victim Restoration Project
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35 This was originally grant funded and was very successful. It is highly
36 recommended to continue. It improves restitution services for victims of juvenile
37 crime. It collaborates with community policing efforts and neighborhood groups on
38 prevention. It helps increase offender accountability through the use of victim
39 impact panels. It will reduce recidivism.
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41 Civil Case Manager, Differentiated Case Management
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43 This will facilitate non - judicial dispute resolution. It will help with the
44 proactive management of civil case timelines. One thing they learned was that the
45 impact on the criminal side has a huge impact on the civil side, and the perceptions
46 of the public's feelings about their access to justice are hugely impacted by the
47 bog -down on the civil side. They've been very careful to look not just at criminal
48 issues in this process.
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 4
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Family Law Courthouse Facilitator
This will increase courtroom efficiency by providing for better - prepared pro
se litigants, reduce waiting periods, and increase access to justice in a timely
manner.
.5 FTE Jail Interviewer
This will increase direct service access for victims of domestic violence. It
allows for the protection order process to be available all day long, rather than just
in the afternoon. That is critical for folks who have that issue.
Additional Staff /Attorney and Secretary
There is a huge need to reduce prosecutor caseloads and bring staffing levels
to national norms. The increase of an attorney and a secretary will increase the
ability to meet performance measure guidelines and increase the responsiveness of
the system and access to justice.
Additional Staff /Investigator
This is to shift certain non - attorney pre -trial and non - attorney trial
responsibilities to a trained investigator to increase the efficiency and effectiveness
of the attorneys that are working in the Prosecutor's Office. The things the
attorneys need to do, they will do. This position allows for an investigator to do
other things.
Clerk /Receptionist
This is clerical support for the Public Defender's Office for their ability to
collect and analyze data for case management, reduce court congestion, speed up
case processing, and insure adequate representation for all citizens. This is the
companion piece to the next item.
Deputy I Public Defender
This is to reduce caseloads, bringing them closer to national standards, help
support the expansion of the drug court and other specialty courts, and increase
the time available for the director of the Public Defender's Office to spend doing
actual management direction rather than 100 percent caseload.
Design Specialty Courts
This is to research and evaluate models for other types of courts, increase
the ability to centrally manage like cases, and increase the safety of citizens
through better case management of cases involving issues such as mental health
and domestic violence. They've all seen the potential of the drug court. Everyone
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 5
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is aware that there is a lot of potential in this arena. It will give them a chance to
take a studied look.
Courtroom Digital Recording Equipment
This reduces costs and increases the quality of the material.
Valum thanked the County Council for its attention and patience. It has been
an honor to work with this group. She didn't know much about the law and justice
system when she came to work as a citizen with this group. She was impressed
with the integrity and vision everyone brings to their work and the fact that this is a
group trying to look forward to a common goal. These are the steps to help move
this forward.
Marshall stated Mr. Desler has been an active participant in the entire
process and is able to direct and answer some of the Council's questions.
Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated the recommendations are a
fundamental step in a progression of steps that have been going on for the last
couple of years. A lot of this effort resulted from the County Council taking a stand
on this earlier, which complemented the Executive, who formed this effort. Other
elected officials have been key to this, including the sheriff, the prosecuting
attorney, and some of the judges. They provided a lot of the leadership for this
effort. Without their cooperation and sense of commitment, this wouldn't be
possible. This is one of the few examples in the state where the way the public
expects the system to operate is beginning to fundamentally operate. People are
communicating with one another. The law and justice system is operating as a
system. They are working together to obtain clear goals from the Law and Justice
Plan. He is proud to be a part of this team. He would discuss any project issues,
and then describe the next steps he foresees occurring in the administration's
proposal to move these projects forward.
Nelson thanked the Law and Justice Council, administration, and staff of the
NWRC. He asked how they framed the approach to solving this immense problem
and the criteria used to develop a criminal justice system that will be cost effective.
Crawford asked what was left out, what they are not funding, and if there is
a long -term strategy in terms of getting these things done. Marshall stated the
group gave very careful consideration to that. One of the first things they did was
pull out anything that had to do with the development of new facilities. They felt
that was something that needed to be looked at in a comprehensive way. For
example, there was a proposal for Sheriff's Office satellite offices. They felt it was
premature, they need to take the most important first steps first, and make sure
they had the appropriate planning. They need the crime analyst and the facilities
planner in place first.
Desler stated initially the high priorities were data integration, formulization
of a law and justice plan, the creation of an effort to continually plan and evaluate
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 6
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the system, and going forward with an effort allowing for comprehensive master
facilities planning. Those issues have either been accomplished in the 2001 budget
or are contained in these recommendations. They asked the departments about
their priorities as well, based on the recommendations of the plan. The Law and
Justice Council took that into consideration. The council also looked at what could
be accomplished this year. There are some things that will come back in 2002 and
2003 in the form of further recommendations from the Law and Justice Council and
the administration to accomplish other elements of the plan. Finally, the plan will
need to be updated. Things change. New problems may develop. The Law and
Justice Council has a commitment to reevaluate where they are going in line with
the needs of the community and the proper functioning of their criminal justice
system.
Nelson asked the priority for determining which programs were selected.
Marshall stated they looked at what they could accomplish. They had criteria, such
as the different parts of the plan that each proposal related to, how well the
proposal could be evaluated, and the success measured. They are very concerned
about ensuring that they develop a sound system to monitor these resources. They
want to build in a mechanism to ensure that the outcomes are achievable. If the
outcomes are not achievable, then they want to redirect the resources to where
they would be better implemented. They took non - facility related things first.
Dawson asked if they looked at the another option of partnerships regarding
satellite facilities, such as fire halls.
Dale Brandland, Sheriff, stated no. For the purpose of this, they looked
internally at using other options, but did not present those options. There are some
gains to be made, but also losses that had to do with accountability. It would be
difficult to have accountability from supervisors and employees. There are logistical
issues that could not be adequately addressed without further planning. For that
purpose, they chose to submit the initial pilot program of a satellite station in the
Kendall area. They would look at it once it is in place, and then let the County
Council know of the results. That was the reason the one proposal was submitted.
McShane asked about the new corrections facility planner. It is budgeted for
$75,000 this year. He asked if the intent was to move forward, do a request for
proposals (RFP), and bring in an architect this year or next year. Desler stated
they presented a new facilities planning process to the County Council. The
administration is in the final stages of working with key department heads. They
will develop a scope of work along which they would use an RFP to select a master
facilities planning process. As a part of the process, they would address the needs
of the jail and the development of another corrections facility. Therefore, they
expect to begin implementing the actual design and planning of a corrections
facility this year. Whether or not they complete all of it by the end of this year is
another question. They will have to negotiate with the potential provider, and come
back with a plan to do that to the Executive and the County Council.
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 7
1 McShane asked if they anticipate continuing ongoing oversight for a couple of
2 years during the construction or selection process, or whether that oversight would
3 be done in -house by current staff. Desler stated they would contract any additional
4 capacity needed for the work. He did not see the need for any additional staff.
5 They will use the expertise of current departments to complete the work, along with
6 specialized firms. The term "planner" is not intended to refer to a person.
7
8 Crawford asked if this request is more for a contract. Desler stated yes. The
9 master facilities process that the County Council approved doesn't have the money
10 to do the design and planning associated with the jail. This would be allocated by
11 the Law and Justice Council to focus on that effort.
12
13 Crawford asked if it would be administered through the County Executive.
14 Desler stated he proposed it to go into the non - departmental fund, and then be
15 organized in conjunction with the Executive and the Facilities Management Division,
16 with close coordination with the sheriff and jail staff.
17
18 Nelson stated the initial presentation said that this was geared towards
19 making the County more efficient, get accountability into the system, and to have
20 cost savings. He asked if there is a way to analyze these issues for effectiveness.
21 Marshall stated they looked at some of the areas that are the weakest as part of
22 the entire plan. For example, the County caseloads are outrageous. They are very
23 understaffed. These are the beginning steps of addressing that understaffing.
24 Once done, they will work with the consultant to put together an evaluation process
25 to measure how well they are doing at addressing the goals that each proposal
26 relates to. It will make a tremendous difference for all citizens. It will result in a
27 safer community and better handling of domestic violence and juvenile justice
28 cases.
29
30 Nelson asked if the consultant would do the evaluation. Marshall stated not
31 necessarily. The consultant will help them design the system. They are going to
32 have to work in conjunction with the County Executive's Office. It will require
33 additional funding. Those issues have not been addressed yet, but they've made
34 the commitment to do it.
35
36 Nelson asked if they initiated a discussion about cost savings that would be
37 incurred by implementing or not implementing this program. Desler stated there
38 are efforts in the proposed plan that would result in building the capacity they need
39 to respond to the increasing demands that are occurring to the system from the
40 public. In other cases, it is intended to create savings to the system through
41 increased efficiencies. The data integration project is an example. It is designed to
42 allow the system to run more effectively, save money, provide better information to
43 all levels of the system, and provide information to the policymakers about how the
44 system is functioning and managed. The efforts to address how they intake
45 prisoners and offenders into the facility and the desire to treat and not jail people
46 with mental health issues will ultimately be a cost savings to the system. The
47 efforts with one -time expenditures for efficiency, such as the digital recording
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 8
1 system, are designed to improve the efficiency of the system without increasing
2 costs. There are some things they could do to result in additional revenue.
3
4 Nelson stated they can expect being able to meet the needs of the future,
5 become more efficient at the current level to not increase costs, and evaluate the
6 effectiveness of the programs regarding the outcomes. Marshall stated they are
7 emphasizing leveraging other dollars to bring into this community. They will look
8 for grant funding wherever they can. Obviously, $1.8 million is not going to solve
9 the problem in the county, but it is a great step forward.
10
11 Dawson stated they mentioned the goal of treating and not jailing those with
12 mental health problems. She asked the options in that area. Desler stated project
13 three, behavioral health triage planning, is promoted by the Mental Health Advisory
14 Board and other groups that represent people with mental illness. Doing a proper
15 assessment is appropriate. That effort, even though it hasn't been fully funded yet,
16 would result in recommendations on how to respond to those issues.
17
18 Any of these projects, in and of themselves, are not designed to do that, but
19 the results of this process will result in the answers to that question. Also, Andy
20 Burn could respond to that question.
21
22 Brandland stated he and Lt. Wendy Jones have been looking at a mental
23 health unit in the Maryland area. He is working on funding so they can go take a
24 look at that unit. It might be that they could do some things internally that might
25 not cost money. Mental health issues are a very high priority.
26
27 Crawford asked about funding the management information system (MIS).
28 This proposal envisions commencing the integration effort by implementing a
29 software application solution that maintains legacy systems and creates the ability
30 to exchange data between County government justice agencies. He asked if there
31 is a benefit to the Bellingham Police Department.
32
33 (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.)
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35 Desler stated there is a benefit to all criminal justice agencies in the system.
36 That is why they are trying to make it as comprehensive as possible. To the extent
37 that Bellingham or other jurisdictions might contribute, they have not worked on
38 the details of that. They need to have the Bellingham Police Department and other
39 organizations at the federal and state level adequately involved.
40
41 Crawford asked if the potential for revenues exists, but hasn't been explored.
42 Desler stated not to his knowledge. The MIS committee might be working on that
43 more deliberately. They are not at the point where they have a product to sell to
44 the City of Bellingham. They are also submitting grant applications to fund this
45 effort, including the federal government and the state government.
46
47 Crawford stated this isn't something they would just go purchase for
48 $785,000. He thought it was something that they could identify as costing that
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 9
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amount. Desler stated that is a budget figure that needs further refinement and
analysis that would occur later this year. Today, they are asking for the amount
that relates to the year 2001 for $135,000.
Marshall stated there are members of the municipalities on the Law and
Justice Council. At this point, the City of Bellingham has contributed to the general
operation of the Law and Justice Council. They are intimately involved in this
planning process and recognize the benefits and will want to work with the County
collaboratively to solve the problems.
Nelson stated the MIS isn't one system that they purchase. They are
attempting to integrate and make sure the systems communicate. That is
essential. The County is a long way along the line of doing this, and it is an
important step in making the entire criminal justice system work more effectively
for the community. They have to be careful because there are not very good
examples of integrated systems in the United States. One of the concerns is to be
sure they are not stubbing their toes along the way. He asked if the committee
discussed this at all. Marshall stated they did. They've done quite a bit of
research.
Kathy Walker, Management Information System Sub - Committee Chair,
stated this is a complicated process. They are being careful about how to structure
this. The key to this is the legacy systems. What they usually run into when
someone tries to integrate systems is the recommendation that everyone be on one
system. They are trying to create a solution so the City of Ferndale police
department can maintain their existing legacy system. They will try to share
common data fields that they all need and want. They will put those fields in a
central location, and then distribute them to everyone. There are a lot of different
solutions, depending on what they want to do. This proposal is to be a pilot with
the City of Bellingham because they have communications with them. They have
fiber optics, which will facilitate their ability to communicate through this process.
Once they have that in place, they can expand out to the other jurisdictions. One
of the problems with other jurisdictions is that they don't have that direct
communication. They want to make sure they could create a solution to implement
early on that they could eventually apply to all the jurisdictions. They are applying
for grants so the smaller jurisdictions don't have to come up with the money. They
are asking those smaller jurisdictions to participate. They are participating in the
sub - committee. They are working on a grant that will hopefully bring in about
$900,000. They will have to match $900,000. Other possibilities have to do with
mobile data terminals that get them their automatic police reports that draw out
the data elements automatically into the AS400.
Nelson asked if the integration has been done elsewhere, or if there have
been other ways of doing it. Walker stated the key is the legacy system. When
they talk about everyone not being able to do it, people have wanted one system.
The state of Colorado has done it well throughout their state, in about 18 months.
It is a system the sub - committee has taken a look at. They maintain legacy
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 10
1 systems. There is a lot of new technology that allows them to define data fields
2 and creates an ability to move that data into legacy systems.
3
4 McShane asked about coordinating with Skagit County. Walker stated that
5 they would eventually create a system that implements the state - adopted
6 standards for the state justice systems. Beyond that, they want to link with federal
7 agencies. They are trying to construct the system so the standards will mesh. The
8 goal is to stop someone in the field, and run all the information nationally on that
9 person.
10
11 Crawford questioned how they arrived at the funding amount. Walker stated
12 they looked at canned programs, but they require abandoning the legacy systems.
13 They analyzed how many interactive seats that would be required to do this, and
14 how many data entry seats that would be required. Once they design the RFP, they
15 can come back with more specific dollar amounts and what the ultimate solution
16 will be.
17
18 Nelson stated he went through the high priorities from the recommendations
19 of the contractors. He asked how they derived the amounts for these projects.
20 Desler stated there were recommendations from the consultants in the plan and
21 from the council. The department heads were asked to submit proposals based on
22 completing some of the recommendations in the plan. The council carefully
23 reviewed that. It is going through a final screen at the Executive's Office.
24
25 Nelson asked if they reviewed each recommendation in terms of appropriate
26 associated cost. Desler stated they are finalizing their review. Prior to submitting
27 the supplemental budget request, they will have more refined numbers. It depends
28 upon when they project the projects to begin and other variables that they need to
29 work through. Fundamentally, the objectives of each of the projects as
30 recommended by the council are coming to the County Council with the County
31 Executive's blessing.
32
33 Nelson asked someone to speak on the crime analyst. He questioned
34 whether that item became important at this time. It wasn't a high priority before.
35 Brandland stated they received a grant. The limits on the grant were that they had
36 to hire a civilian and be able to put a uniformed officer back on the road. They
37 were very creative in the way they were able to do that. They got a grant for
38 $25,000 for one year. The $15,000 is to make up the cost of that FTE for a one -
39 year period. The federal government spends their money from October 1 to
40 September 30. The County government spends its money from January through
41 December. They've said they need $40,000 to do this project. He suggested to the
42 Law and Justice Council that if they don't feel that it is appropriate or a high -
43 enough priority to do on a full -time basis, then they should probably just not do it.
44
45 Nelson asked if they hope in two years to have a complete analysis of crime
46 patterns. Brandland stated they would hopefully be able to bring the County
47 Council something other than anecdotal information. A crime analyst with
48 computer savvy will go through all the records and get that sort of information. He
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 11
1 or she will also be able to tell the patrol division that there are crime patterns.
2 Now, the detective sergeant has to do that by reading all the reports and finding a
3 commonality.
4
5 Crawford asked if the position would tie into the geographic information
6 system (GIS). He was on the Bellingham School District's High School Attendance
7 Boundary Review Area Committee. The school district hired someone to do GIS
8 services in which they were able to identify the location of where each student in
9 the entire district lived. They were able to see how that affected attendance.
10 There would be a benefit if the County did the same thing with the crime patterns.
11 Brandland agreed, specifically as it relates to sex offenders. That potential is there.
12 He did not know if crime analysts around the state were using GIS.
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14 Desler stated it is relevant to GIS. The Executive will come forward in about
15 six weeks with a plan on the future of where they are going with the GIS
16 throughout County government.
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18 Crawford suggested that they think about looking for someone who is
19 somewhat GIS savvy. It might be a good investment for a year or two down the
20 road when they take the information to the next level. Brandland stated it would
21 also be good to think about how a crime analyst can be used with the rest of the
22 criminal justice system.
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24 Nelson questioned the central intake unit. When dealing with intake, they
25 have a lot of issues, such as mental health and substance abuse. People will have
26 sociopathic problems or other institutional issues that they need to deal with. He
27 asked how to tie this together to alleviate impacts to the jail system and to
28 optimize their effective treatment and ability to not impact the criminal justice
29 system. Brandland stated that the objective jail classification is something that the
30 Sheriff's and Chief's Association has been working on for the past two years, and is
31 hoping to implement in July. It allows them to better identify individuals and put
32 them into appropriate programs. There is a set standard that is used around the
33 state so that, no matter where one goes around the state, he or she will be given
34 the same level of service. Right now, what they do is anecdotal and a gut reaction.
35 His folks are good at identifying the people who they think will work in the
36 programs. The success of their programs bears that out. There is a good
37 possibility that there are more people in the jail that they could divert out to
38 alternative programs, but they are a bit gun shy. They want to make sure the
39 programs succeed. If they have someone who re- offends while on one of the
40 programs, it is a big liability.
41
42 Nelson asked if the objective jail classification is more of what they are
43 already doing. Brandland stated they are refining what they are doing. They are
44 going to be able to better justify the classification of their inmates. It would be
45 difficult for them to go before a judge right now and document their classification
46 system because it is very subjective, not objective. Objective jail classifications are
47 like insurance policies.
48
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Nelson asked if this would help them move into doing the triage. Brandland
stated it absolutely would. Objective jail classification is important from a facilities
standpoint, because it will be able to better enable them to determine where these
people go. It is a very important first step, especially in the facilities area.
Marshall stated they appreciated the County Council's time.
Nelson commended the Law and Justice Council on the format in which the
recommendations were presented. They will review those projected benefits as
they move through this process. Hopefully, they will have an ability to measure the
outcomes, making sure they are working effectively. They will have a better
picture as they tie the results into the next phase. He thanked all who served on
the Law and Justice Council for working amiably together.
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 2:42 p.m.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
These minutes were approved by Council on April 17 , 2001.
ATTEST:
Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
L. Ward Nelson, Council Chair
Special County Council - Law and Justice, 3/13/2001, Page 13