The Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, or CJCC, and The Charleston Forum today announced “The State of South Carolina's Criminal Justice System” conference, an event that aims to showcase the best and most promising practices for improving public safety, justice, and fairness in South Carolina.
The inaugural conference will be held on Friday, October 20th, 2023, from 8:30 am to 3 pm at Trident Technical College in North Charleston. Conference planners include a steering committee of experts from across the state along with co-chairs, Ellen Steinberg, JD, CJCC Director, and Kristy Danford, Charleston Forum Criminal Justice Committee Chair.
“Improving South Carolina's criminal justice system requires us to take a holistic look at how our system functions and the impacts it has on our communities,” said Kristy Danford. “The inaugural conference is an opportunity for diverse leaders from across the state to come together, share progress and challenges, learn from each other, and help strengthen our collective capacity for advancing public safety, justice, and fairness.”
Proposals to present at the conference are being accepted through August 28th, 2023. Presentations will be selected based upon a combination of factors such as the degree to which it is research informed and databased, reflective of system issues, representative of diverse perspectives and lived experiences, and aligned with the goal of the conference.
Leaders representing various sectors of the criminal justice system from across the state, including the courts, prosecution, defense, law enforcement, corrections, city, county and state leaders, medical/behavioral healthcare and community-based providers, individuals with lived experience, the advocacy community, and subject matter experts are encouraged to attend. Registration will open later this month.
“It should be a robust and impactful conference,” said said Ellen Steinberg. “While the conference will last one day, it will also serve as a launching pad for a collaborative network for data-guided leaders working locally and statewide to improve different parts of South Carolina's criminal justice system.”
To learn more about the conference or to submit a presentation for consideration, visit https://cjcc.charlestoncounty.org/inaugural-conference.php.
