Tag: community justice planner
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City leaders call for lobbying effort to stop Harrisonburg from having to pay for state inmates
While the rate of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County residents incarcerated at the local jail and Middle River Regional Jail has remained fairly flat since 2014, the city is having to cover the cost of more state inmates who have no connection to this community but are being housed at the regional jail.
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One month into new role, criminal justice planner finds ways to affect change — even amid a pandemic
A reverence for comprehensive data, a belief in transformational justice over punishment and a willingness to listen to area stakeholders before taking action are all in J. Frank Sottaceti’s toolbelt as he steps into the newly-created role of Criminal Justice Planner for the city of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
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Community justice planner hired; Council approves first small houses in new zoning class
Starting March 9, Harrisonburg and Rockingham County will have a criminal justice planner, an addition to the court system for which local justice advocates have long been campaigning.
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City, county staff continue working to define and fill new justice planner role
Voting to fund a new justice planner position, as the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County did earlier this year, was just step one. Now, City Manager Eric Campbell, County Administrator Stephen King and their respective staffs are playing administrative catch as they make good on that promise by actually developing a job description and hiring someone to do it.
Council again asks sheriff to consider ditching the jail ‘keep fee,’ also passes 2020 budget
The Harrisonburg city council ratcheted up pressure on the Rockingham County sheriff regarding the $1-a-day “keep fee” at the local jail. After a lengthy discussion about wording and efficacy, the council unanimously adopted a resolution on Tuesday evening to formally ask Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson to “examine the possibility of eliminating the $1-day jail fee.”
City spending on incarceration continues to climb
Harrisonburg’s total cost to prosecute, try and incarcerate people has risen by $1.8 million – roughly 29 percent – over the past five years, according to city finance documents.
Justice planner included in proposed city budget that will get a public hearing at tonight’s council meeting
A tiny fraction of the proposed $274 million city budget amounts to a big deal for community groups that have been calling for reforms in the local criminal justice system.
City leaders back remembrance of Hburg’s lynching victim and discuss criminal justice issues at Tuesday’s meeting
Council members offered support at Tuesday’s meeting to a civic project memorializing Charlotte Harris, a victim of a public lynching in Harrisonburg 141 years ago.
