Smart Justice Spokane is a broad coalition of over 30 organizations working together to end mass incarceration and eliminate racial disparities in our local criminal justice system.

Our Mission

We organize and mobilize together for effective, restorative solutions that are driven by the experiences and needs of those impacted by the criminal justice system. The recovery and integration of those caught up in the criminal justice process is essential for a strong, healthy, and just community.

Our Goals

We urgently need to adopt effective, policy restorative solutions that are driven by the experiences and needs of those impacted by our justice system. The recovery and integration of those individuals is essential for a strong, healthy, and just community. Smart justice means adopting solutions like:

• Centering the voices and leadership on those most impacted, families, and communities at the policy design and decision-¬‐making tables because those closest to the problem are closest to the solution.
• Spending our tax dollars on cost‐effective, research-based smart justice reforms, which foster racial equity and culturally appropriate opportunities for recovery and integration, including non-jail solutions, non-arrest solutions, and treatment solutions.
• Ending the costly impacts of racial, economic, and other social disparities and changing peoples’ lives so they can be free of the criminal justice system permanently.
• Making data transparent and accessible, and collecting data on race throughout the system.
• Expanding the use of evidence-¬‐based and results-¬‐based assessment tools that focus on race to develop programs and direct resources where they’re most needed and permanently eliminate racial inequities, which benefits everyone.
• Using a trauma-¬‐informed approach to adopt procedural and restorative justice solutions hat result in better outcomes for justice-¬‐involved individuals, their families, and victims.
• Developing employment and housing solutions that reduces barriers to housing, education, and living wage careers for people living with conviction records.
• Keeping families together and not using criminal justice resources to separate families, including not using the county jail to house immigrants regardless of their status.
• Investing in historically underserved communities by providing educational opportunities and neighborhood resources to create a vibrant and healthy environment where all families can thrive.

Policy Solutions:

1.Apply Racial Equity tools in all areas of the criminal justice system and related governmental agencies.

2.Implement the Blue Print for Reform and other programs and policies that eliminate racial inequities and reduce the jail population, including:

• Data uniform, racially specific, and transparent
• Change arrest policies that criminalize poverty, homelessness, and addiction
• End cash bail; support the work of the bail project
• Adopt least restrictive alternatives to incarceration, with pretrial court ordered services fully funded by tax dollars.
• Expedite Pre-trial Reform: Stop forcing people to serve a sentence while still presumed innocent.
• Diversion programs – building and full implementation of the Mental Health Crisis Stabilization Facility, and develop and implement a LEAD like program in Spokane.
• Expand access and fully resource the Spokane Resource Center and all community and culturally appropriate community services.
• End draconian drug charging decisions by County Prosecutor’s office.
  Implement the massive investments in resources in supporting our mental health care systems.

If your organization would like to join the Smart Justice Spokane coalition, please click here for the form to do so!

Greater Spokane Progress is a public charity that only engages in activities that are permissible under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). Greater Spokane Progress and the members of the network are strictly prohibited from participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. All Greater Spokane Progress activities will be strictly non-partisan. In addition, Greater Spokane Progress activities will not be coordinated with any candidate, political party or other partisan entity.