​Community Engagement

Criminal Justice Community Engagement Task Group

Through its Criminal Justice Services Department, Mecklenburg County has committed to being part of the MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge, a national movement to safely reduce the use of jails and address racial and ethnic disparities in the local criminal justice system. Strong community relationships are vital to build trust, ensure transparency, and safeguard the inclusion of all the unique voices that make up Mecklenburg County.

The Criminal Justice Community Engagement Task Group will serve as a liaison between the community and the criminal justice system to improve county-citizen relationships and create a more equitable system. The diverse body is made up of 10 community members and representatives from local criminal justice agencies. The task group will:

• Provide recommendations to the Criminal Justice Advisory Group (CJAG) on specific topics, as directed by the CJAG.
  
• Collaborate with criminal justice stakeholders to teach a community build up and criminal justice learning series.  
  
• Attend and participate in meetings related to Criminal Justice.
  

As part of its involvement in the Safety and Justice Challenge, Criminal Justice Services has created a Racial and Ethnic Disparities and Community Engagement Workgroup with the goal of listening to community members' concerns, issues, and ideas to identify potential system and policy changes to improve the local criminal justice system. The Workgroup began its work with a pilot in the Hidden Valley Community and hopes to expand to other Mecklenburg County communities in the future.

Past Workgroup Activities in Response to Community Feedback:

• Partnered with the Hidden Valley Community on the Hidden Valley Community JamFest (4/14/2018)
• Hosted Educational Resource Fair at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School (2/8/2018)
• Exploring opportunities to collaborate on an Educational Garden at Hidden Valley Elementary School
• Collaborated with CMPD and Charlotte's Community Resource Council to provide community/pop-up mediation within the Hidden Valley community
  
• Developed series of resource fairs to share information about services available within the local justice system and Mecklenburg County
  
• Participated in the Hidden Valley Community's Annual Parade and Festival (12/2/2017)
• Active partner in CMPD's Community Empowerment Initiative (10/2017 - present)
• Co-Hosted Community Forum with the Hidden Valley Community Association (9/5/2017)
• Attended Hidden Valley National Night Out (8/1/2017)
  

Community Engagement Partners include:

Mecklenburg County's Criminal Justice System needs your feedback to help identify more effective alternatives to justice system involvement. Solutions must come from our community and from the people.