BACKGROUND
MEMBERS OF THE OKLAHOMA COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COUNCIL
In response to the growing concerns about chronic overcrowding in Oklahoma County’s jail facility, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber announced the creation of a special task force to evaluate Oklahoma County’s criminal justice system in December 2015. With collaboration and input from a diverse group of community members, the Chamber contracted with the Vera Institute of Justice to complete an initial analysis and make recommendations for reform of the Oklahoma County criminal justice system. Vera released their recommendations in December 2016. As a central recommendation of the report, an inter-local agreement between Oklahoma County, the City of Oklahoma City, the City of Edmond and the City of Midwest City created the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC) in November 2017. The Advisory Council continued to evolve with the hiring of a full-time executive director in February 2018 to provide support to the CJAC’s efforts. The creation of this permanent oversight body is key to implementing the proposed criminal justice reforms which can be summarized in these six key recommendations:
Clay Bennett , Chairperson
Tony Tyler , Vice-Chairperson (First Community Representative)
MEMBERS:
Sue Ann Arnall , Second Community Representative
Judge Don Andrews , Presiding Judge of Oklahoma County District Court
Vicki Behenna , District Attorney of Oklahoma County
Craig Freeman , City Manager of Oklahoma City
Brandi Garner , CEO of the Oklahoma County Detention Center Christy Gillenwater , President and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
• Create oversight and accountability mechanisms for the local justice system.
Wade Gourley , Chief of Police of Oklahoma City
Judge Philippa James , Presiding Judge of Oklahoma City Municipal Court
• Reduce jail admissions for municipal violations and low- level misdemeanors.
Tommie Johnson III , Oklahoma County Sheriff
• Create a fair and efficient pretrial release process that safely reduces unnecessary pretrial incarceration.
Rev. Theodis Manning Sr. , Fourth Community Representative Brian Maughan , Commissioner, Board of Oklahoma County Commissioners
• Identify and address district court case processing delays that increase jail admissions and length of stay.
Robert Ravitz , Oklahoma County Public Defender
• Expand meaningful diversion program options, focusing on those with mental illness and substance abuse disorders.
Scot Rigby , City Manager of Edmond
Carrie Slatton-Hodges , Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
• Reduce the impact of justice system fines and fees as a driver of jail growth and recidivism.
Dan Straughan , Third Community Representative
Although each of the six recommendations carries numerous challenges and barriers to improvement, the good news is that because of the cooperative effort of the Advisory Council’s stakeholders, progress continues to be made on all six recommendations.
LaShawn Thompson , Court Administrator of Oklahoma City Municipal Court
Rick Warren , Court Clerk of Oklahoma County
Amy K. Simpson , Secretary
Cole Marshall , General Counsel, McAfee & Taft
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