HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04212015 - C.76RECOMMENDATION(S):
REFER to the Public Protection Committee a letter from the Contra Costa County Racial Justice Coalition regarding
the local criminal justice system.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND:
On April 7, 2015, the Board of Supervisors received a letter (attached) from the Contra Costa County Racial Justice
Coalition requesting review of topics within the local criminal justice system. The Public Protection Committee
(PPC) generally hears all matters related to public safety within the County. Committee staff will integrate this issue
into the PPC discussion schedule for CY 2015.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
A review of the letter will not be referred to the Public Protection Committee.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
No impact.
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 04/21/2015 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II
Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III
Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV
Supervisor
ABSENT:Federal D. Glover, District V
Supervisor
Contact: Timothy Ewell,
925-335-1036
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors
on the date shown.
ATTESTED: April 21, 2015
David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: June McHuen, Deputy
cc:
C. 76
To:Board of Supervisors
From:David Twa, County Administrator
Date:April 21, 2015
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:REFERRAL TO PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE
ATTACHMENTS
Letter to the Board of Supervisors
To the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors: April 7, 2015
We call on you to take action to address racism in Contra Costa County's law enforcement. We
are a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to eliminating racial inequalities in
Contra Costa. We are people who live and work here. Despite District Attorney Mark Peterson's
claim that "racism is not the reason for disparity in [the] criminal justice system," we know from
current research and our own experience that racism is very much a part of the problem.
Systemic bias against people of color is a reality we see every day, and we will not stand for
more of the same.
Leading law enforcement officials agree that racial bias in the criminal justice system is a
problem across the country. Attorney General Eric Holder has acknowledged that "systemic and
unwarranted racial disparities remain disturbingly common," and "African-American men have
received sentences that are nearly 20 percent longer than those imposed on white males
convicted of similar crimes." Consistent with this, the Department of Justice has found that
"African Americans experience disparate impact in nearly every aspect of Ferguson’s law
enforcement system." The same inequalities fester in cities throughout the U.S.
Contra Costa is not immune from the nationwide epidemic. Black men and women are six times
more likely than their white counterparts to be in jail in Contra Costa. Despite this, Mr. Peterson
claims law enforcement is "colorblind" in our county and claims that the disparity is because
"crimes are perpetrated disproportionately by poor people of color." We reject these assertions,
and we call for action to ameliorate the inequalities of our system.
To that end, we recommend the following:
1. That all Contra Costa County employees participate in mandatory annual implicit bias
training;
2. That this Board perform an audit of arrests and prosecutions in the county and generate
a public report with findings on racial disparities;
3. That the Board implement a civilian police review board and civilianization of police
complaint intake;
4. That this Board restore parity in compensation between the District Attorney and Public
Defender;
5. That this Board implement policies and fund programming to increase proportional
representation of people of color in county juries;
6. That this Board adopt a resolution to take all necessary measures to reduce systemic
and unwarranted racial disparities in our criminal justice system.
We ask you to hear our voices and to be moved to change the status quo. If Contra Costa is to
move closer to justice for people of all colors, we will need to take concrete steps in the right
direction. If you are on the side of addressing racism in Contra Costa rather than denying it,
then you can only demonstrate this through your actions.
Respectfully,
The Contra Costa County Racial Justice Coalition
_____________________
1. Racism is not the reason for disparity in criminal justice system by Mark Peterson, 2015 Bay Area News Group
2. "ALL LIVES MATTER" by District Attorney Mark Peterson, press release, December 23, 2014
3. General Eric Holder at the Morgan State University commencement ceremony in Baltimore, May 17, 2014.
4. Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, by The Department of Justice, March 4, 2015
5. Bureau of Justice Statistics Annual Survey of Jails, 2013
6. U.S. Census Bureau, 2013