Lucas County Safety + Justice Challenge Virtual Community Listening Questionnaire |
As part of its affiliation with the MacArthur Foundation Safety + Justice Challenge, Lucas County, Ohio has developed the attached survey to give you the opportunity to provide feedback on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the local jail population.
Here are the challenges facing Lucas County in addressing these disparities:
· More than half of the individuals released from the Lucas County Corrections Center have behavioral health needs.
· Low-level offenders represent 25 percent of individuals being held in the jail at any one time.
· African Americans make up 57 percent of those held in jail for the three most common misdemeanor charges of drug possession, disorderly conduct, and obstructing official business.
· While African Americans make up 19 percent of the county’s population, they represent 58 percent of custodial arrests over the last five years.
· An estimated 32 percent of the sentenced jail population is incarcerated due to technical violations of probation.
Lucas County is asking for input from residents, advocates, community stakeholders, and others who live, work, or have interests in the Toledo zip codes of 43604, 43607, 43608, and 43610. Anchor institutions with operations in the targeted zip codes, including those directly impacted by crime and violence, are encouraged to participate.
This survey is an extension of virtual community listening sessions held in the fall. Feedback from this questionnaire will assist in the development of micro-grant funding opportunities in the areas of policy change, community engagement, and/or programming in the targeted zip codes, including community engagement strategies related to the Lucas County Safety + Justice Challenge.