Spokane City Council mulls endorsement of racial equity in criminal justice system

Mon., Aug. 17, 2020

By Adam Shanks adams@spokesman.com (509) 459-5136

Text of the resolution

WHEREAS, the Spokane Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution on February 5, 2019 authorizing the County to work with the JFA Institute (“JFA”) and Vera Institute of Justice (“Vera”) to facilitate a deliberative process related to the future of the Spokane County Jail; and

WHEREAS, to develop recommendations, the Office of Law & Justice, in coordination with JFA and Vera, assembled a Justice Task Force (“JTF”); and

WHEREAS, the JTF met four times between May, 2019 and January, 2020 and included leaders from various divisions of the criminal justice system, community service providers, the business community, and community members; and

WHEREAS, in doing this work, the JTF and its committees were informed by a series of qualitative listening sessions meant to solicit input and insight from additional stakeholders and community members, including interviews with fourteen criminal justice system stakeholders, six town halls, interviews with ten jail staff members of Spokane County detention services, and focus groups with currently incarcerated community members.

WHEREAS, Recommendation 1 from the resulting report is that the County adopt a set of guiding principles that will inform the County’s future decisions related to the criminal justice system; and

WHEREAS, as a large participant in the regional criminal justice system, the City of Spokane should also adopt guiding principles as a first, necessary step toward the improvements in our system of criminal justice in Spokane County that will benefit all people, and will implement our comprehensive and strategic plans to be safer, smarter, more compassionate, and fiscally responsible.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Spokane adopts the following guiding principles to inform future City of Spokane decisions related to the local criminal justice system, including its police department, municipal court, prosecutors, defenders, and probation services, namely that the City of Spokane:

Commits to ensuring safe and humane treatment and conditions of confinement for everyone who comes into contact with the local justice system (including but not limited to defendants, victims, and staff);
Recognizes that pre-trial incarceration beyond the “least restrictive conditions” listed in Superior Court Criminal Rule 3.2(b), such as supervised release, travel or housing restrictions, various types of bonds, requirement for the accused to return to custody during specified hours or to be placed on electronic monitoring, or other conditions reasonably necessary to assure appearance as required, actually undermines public safety;
Commits to ensuring the rights and safety of victims and survivors of crime, and the broader community;
Will increase its investments in rehabilitation and diversion opportunities,especially for individuals in need of behavioral health support, recognizing that they are necessary for the region’s safety;
Will increase its investments in community-based resources (especially housing and behavioral health treatment), including public and private partnerships more effective and efficient uses of existing resources, to ultimately improve community safety and well-being;
Will use data-driven and evidence-based reforms with the goal of reducing crime, decreasing the use of tax payer dollars, and increasing community safety; and
Commits to pursuing a criminal justice system that ensures racial equity and equity across all identities.

The Spokane City Council will consider a resolution on Monday that would call for racial equity in the criminal justice system.

Although nonbinding, the resolution would lay out the city’s template for criminal justice reform, prioritizing efforts that reduce crime while emphasizing opportunities for diversion from jail and rehabilitation for defendants.

That includes limiting pretrial incarceration whenever possible and increasing investments in housing and behavioral health treatment.

The council’s vote will come just weeks after Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell balked at the inclusion of racial equity in the same set of guiding principles for the local criminal justice system under consideration by the Spokane County Board of Commissioners.

The recommendations were outlined earl

ier this year by a county task force consisting of elected leaders, community members, and activists who were tasked with proposing criminal justice reforms.

Last month, Haskell warned County Commissioners that embracing “racial equity” could “adjust the scales” of justice. His comments drew pushback from leaders in communities of color and members of the task force.

Beyond racial equity, the City Council’s resolution calls for “equity across all identities.”

Although the task force’s recommendation was for the county government to adopt guiding principles for reform, Council President Breean Beggs sponsored the resolution, which states the city also has a role to play in the criminal justice system.

The county’s Justice Task Force made its recommendations after nearly a year of review that included several community meetings and input from stakeholders, such as jail employees and incarcerated people.

Adam Shanks can be reached at (509) 459-5136 or adams@spokesman.com

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