FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Earlier this week, the county board received recommendations from an organization called Just US Service Group that outlined what a new jail would require.
The board was also advised to create something new: a criminal justice coordinating council.
Steve Abel, the Fond du Lac County Board chair, says the goal is to explore improvements to make the justice system work more effectively.
"Now we also get to take a look at our justice system here in Fond du Lac County and decide if there are things we want to tweak to that," Abel said. "To maybe keep our bed counts lower in the future."
WATCH JACK PORTER'S FULL BROADCAST STORY HERE...
He says it would consist of several people involved in the criminal justice process.
"We have different shareholders from the district attorney, the sheriff's office, the courts, the judges," Abel said.
Chris Johnson is the board president of the Wisconsin Justice Initiative, which advocates for policy changes in the criminal justice system.
Johnson says using diversion programs could keep low-level offenders out of the main jail population.
"They look for low-risk individuals, and they are charged with generally speaking non-violent, less serious offenses," Johnson said. "They might be property crimes, they might be disorderly conduct. Things like that."
He says there are other ways to get people into the right programs.
"Something like drug treatment court or OWI treatment court," Johnson said. "And those are situations in which the person may still be prosecuted, but the emphasis is on treatment as they go through the criminal justice system. "
While discussions on the criminal justice coordinating council and how it will function will continue, they are still in the very early stages.
