Law and Justice Council

The November 2022 and December 2022 Law & Justice Council Meetings have been cancelled due to the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Regularly scheduled meetings will resume on January 25, 2023 unless otherwise cancelled. Happy Holidays!

Who We Are

The Benton County Law and Justice Council (the "Council") exists by virtue of RCW 72.09.300 and was created by Resolution of the Benton County Board of County Commissioners.  Relevant historical and current resolutions can be found at the links below.

The Council consists of representatives from the following elected offices, departments and municipalities:

• Washington State Department of Corrections
• Benton County Board of Commissioners
• Benton County Sheriff's Office
• Benton County Superior Court
• Benton County Clerk's Office
• Benton County District Court
• Benton County Office of Public Defense
• City of Kennewick
• City of Richland
• City of West Richland
• City of Prosser

In addition, the Council is mandated to have no less than three (3) Citizen Members. Citizen Members are full voting members of the Council each of whom are residents of Benton County with an interest in criminal justice issues and with unique backgrounds that allow them to bring fresh, unique and valuable perspectives to discussions and Council actions.

What We Do

As directed by RCW 72.09.300, the Council meets about, and takes action on, issues pertaining to local criminal justice. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Issues regarding jail management and coordination with the Department of Corrections
• Local crime trends and the availability of criminal justice resources to address and respond to them
• Sharing of resources including information, personnel and infrastructure, amongst local and state stakeholders to reduce duplication and maximize criminal justice efforts
• Partnerships amongst local and state stakeholders to facilitate community policing and offenders supervision efforts to reduce recidivism and enhance responses to offender violations

Meetings

All Law and Justice Council meetings are open to the public and are typically held at the Benton County Justice Center, 7122 W Okanogan Place, Kennewick. Meetings occur every fourth (4th) Wednesday of the month from 12 PM (Noon) to 1 PM. Please see our agendas and minutes page for more information about any upcoming meetings.  Please note that you will have to go through a security screening at the Justice Center before you will be able to get to the meeting location. If you would like to attend a meeting, it is recommended that you check to make sure that it will actually be held before you travel to the Justice Center. Meetings are sometimes canceled due to lack of agenda topics or to accommodate holidays or other scheduling conflicts.  To confirm a meeting, please check our webpage or contact 509-222-3700.