NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Law enforcement, criminal justice researchers and the National Institute of Justice director gathered in North Charleston Friday for a state-wide conference on the trends and topics of the justice system.
Charleston County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council organized the event. The co-chairs say it was most importantly an effort to get everyone who works adjacent to the justice system into the same room to connect.
“This is the first conference of his time in South Carolina. And the goal is really to connect everybody so that we can look at talk about what’s happening in the criminal justice system. Identify those areas that need attention and the people who can help us move it forward,” director Ellen Steinberg J.D. says.
Steinberg and Kristy Danford, Charleston Forum Criminal Justice Committee Chair, handpicked the presenters and topics at the conference. Topics included Community Engagement and the Reduction of Violence, Confronting Disparities in the Criminal Justice System, Lived Experiences and Pretrial Challenges and Opportunities for Advancing Safety, Justice and Fairness.
“We have experts from across the fields and experts who are, you know, putting out papers on it, who are talking who are living it. Everyone here is here because in one way or another they are connected with the criminal justice system. They’re either connected directly or indirectly. And that’s and that’s we all have the same goal, which is we want to create, we want a system that is fair,” Steinberg says.
Local law enforcement leaders including Charleston Police Chief Chito Walker and Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano attended. Panelists included a former CPD officer turned Commission for Minority Affairs Director, and a mental health nurse practitioner who served in law enforcement previously.
“We were looking at it from the standpoint of the system spans from before somebody’s ever even involved in the criminal justice system. So what can we do to deflect people from entering the system or how can we divert people who maybe have mental health or substance use disorders or homelessness, other factors that are maybe better suited outside of the justice system? How can we divert them out, as well as you know, what can we do to use data and harvest community engagement to combat violence and be very targeted and how we do that,” Danford says.
The conference ended with many people exchanging information and planning future meetings to run new data and new programs by the other before making future decisions.
“We want them to connect with one another. And you know, maybe think of something from perspective they may not have heard yet, and really inspire each other to help continuing to support one another, whichever role they’re in or whatever perspective they’re coming from. It’s really a chance to come together and talk about how do we help improve safety, justice and fairness for all South Carolinians,” Danford says.
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