Pima County Awarded $500K Criminal Justice Grant

PIMA COUNTY, AZ — Pima County announced Tuesday that it will receive $500,000 over the next two years in a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to continue building on efforts in collaboration with local leaders and the community to rethink the local criminal justice system, safely reduce the county’s jail population and eliminate racial inequities.

“We’re grateful for our ongoing partnerships an d the continuing support from the Safety and Justice Challenge,” said Wendy Petersen, Pima County Assistant County Administrator for Justice and Law Enforcement. “We all share the goal of safely reducing Pima County’s jail population through meaningful rehabilitation and alternatives to incarceration. This helps both the individual and impact the entire community by making them productive members while easing the strain on public resources.”

The third round of funding brings the foundation’s total investment in Pima County to $3.8 million to date and is part of the Safety and Justice Challenge, a $246 million national initiative to reduce over-incarceration and advance racial equity in local criminal justice systems by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails.

According to county officials, the Safety and Justice Challenge is supporting local leaders, individuals directly and most impacted by the justice system, and the broader community in Pima County and across the country who are determined to address one of the greatest drivers of over-incarceration in America – the misuse and overuse of jails.

Pima County was first selected to join the Safety and Justice Challenge Network in 2015 and has since used the resources and funding provided by the initiative to implement evidence-based solutions.

These reforms include warrant resolution courts on nights and weekends; pre-trial screenings; an automated call, text and email court-date reminder system; creation of a multi-disciplinary criminal justice jail population review committee and probation jail reduction committee, creation of a “data team” focusing specifically on criminal justice issues; enhanced case processing; increased community engagement, including listening sessions with regional tribal nations; and improved job training and workforce development for inmates.

Pima County is one of 15 jurisdictions selected for additional funding based on the promise and progress of work to date.

“Now more than ever, we must confront the devastating impacts of mass incarceration by a system that over-polices and over-incarcerates Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people,” said Laurie Garduque, MacArthur’s Director of Criminal Justice.

County officials said this new round of funding will provide Pima County and partners with continued support and expert technical assistance to strengthen and expand strategies that address the main drivers and resulting racial inequities of local jail incarceration.