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Whatcom County Council Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee

WHA-CJS-2025-11-05 November 05, 2025 Public Health & Safety Committee Whatcom County
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The Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee held a comprehensive meeting featuring three major presentations on the county's evolving criminal justice infrastructure. Prosecutor Eric Richey delivered a detailed report on his office's operations, highlighting technological advances and growing caseload pressures, while warning that upcoming public defender caseload reductions will likely require increased prosecutor staffing. The Justice Center project received an update from STV's Adam Johnson, who outlined the current validation phase and presented a new public dashboard for tracking construction progress. The centerpiece was a presentation by the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force's Behavioral Care Center workgroup, which has reached unanimous consensus on recommending an out-of-custody behavioral care center model for diversion services. The meeting demonstrated significant progress toward implementing the voter-approved Justice Project, with key stakeholders—including prosecutors, public defenders, judges, and mental health professionals—aligning on a prosecutorial diversion framework that would represent the county's first true pre-charge diversion program. Public Defender Stark Follis emphasized this would be "momentous" for Whatcom County, while acknowledging concerns about maintaining these agreements as elected officials change. The committee expressed support for the out-of-custody model while emphasizing the need for public input before final decisions.

**AB 2025-739 - Prosecutor's Office Report:** REPORTED - No formal action required. Prosecutor Richey's annual update covered technological improvements, staffing needs, and diversion programs. **AB 2025-619 - Justice Center Project Update:** DISCUSSED - Adam Johnson presented project timeline and validation phase details. The project team confirmed two core community com…

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**Prosecutor Staffing Pressures:** Richey warned that state-mandated public defender caseload reductions will create "increased litigation" requiring eventual prosecutor staffing increases. He noted the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys is conducting a workload study to establish benchmarks. Councilmember Scanlon highlighted the county's projected $8 million general fund gap and potential public safety tax options. **Justice Center Validation Phase:** The project has entered scenario development, focusing on a "base scope" that meets voter promises: ending booking restrictions and incorporating behavioral health throughout. Key decisions include whether to build kitchen/laundry capacity for 2050 needs immediately or locate expandable spaces at building edges. The team is exploring moving non-trial judicial operat…
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**Eric Richey, Prosecuting Attorney:** Supports eventual staffing increases to match public defender enhancements. Committed to expanding diversion programs and implementing prosecutorial diversion through the behavioral care center. **Adam Johnson, STV Project Manager:** Presented project timeline showing scenario development through Q1-Q2 2026, with community engagement meeting planned for November 20 in Ferndale. **Peter Frazier, IPRTF Co-Chair:** Emphasized importance of collaborative framework between prosecutors, public defenders, and mental health professionals, comparing it to Nashville's successful daily coordination model. **Heather Flaherty, IPRTF Co-Chair:** Highlighted prosecutor's commitment to diversion in exchange for adequate in-custody behavioral he…
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**Eric Richey, on prosecutor workload:** "We are resolving cases faster than we are charging them, and that's great news." **Eric Richey, on future staffing needs:** "When that happens, that's going to have a great impact on my office. It's going to increase litigation because there'll be more attorneys fighting for the defendant's rights." **Peter Frazier, on Nashville model inspiration:** "One of the most inspiring things that we saw in Nashville with their BCC was how every single mornin…
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**November 20, 2025:** Community engagement meeting in Ferndale for Justice Center project input. **End of November/Early December:** Joint Advisory Workgroup (JAW) expected to convene. **Next few months:** STV conducting construction cost analysis comparing behavioral care center locations (La bounty co-location vs. Division Street options). **Q1-Q2 2026:** Continued scenario development for Justice Center project with regular updates to …

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**Behavioral Care Center Direction Set:** The county moved from exploring various models to unanimous stakeholder consensus on an out-of-custody behavioral care center, representing the first formal agreement on this major Justice Project component. **True Diversion Program Established:** Whatcom County will implement its first pre-charge diversion program, fundamentally changing how certain offenders are processed before entering the formal criminal justice system. **Justice Project Validation Advanced:** The project transitioned int…
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# A Vision for Justice Reform Takes Shape in Whatcom County On a crisp November morning in 2025, the Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee convened for what would prove to be a pivotal meeting in the county's justice transformation journey. Committee Chair Barry Buchanan called the session to order at 11:04 a.m., with council members Jon Scanlon present in chambers and Tyler Byrd excused for a prior appointment. What unfolded over the next hour was a comprehensive look at how the county is reimagining its approach to criminal justice — from managing overwhelming caseloads in the prosecutor's office to planning a groundbreaking behavioral care center that could divert people from jail into treatment. The presentations revealed both the challenges facing the current system and the innovative solutions taking shape. ## Prosecutor's Office: Technology, Teamwork, and Rising Pressures Prosecuting Attorney Eric Richey opened the meeting with an update on his office's evolution, painting a picture of an agency adapting to both technological advances and mounting caseload pressures. "We are here to seek justice, uphold the law, and advocate for victims, protect public safety," Richey declared, outlining his office's core mission. But beneath this familiar statement lay a more complex reality. The prosecutor's office has undergone significant technological transformation, implementing a case management system called PBK (Prosecuted by Carpel) that has made the office paperless and improved communication. "Our case management system allows us to be paperless. It allows us to improve internal communication and case resolution speed," Richey explained. The data emerging from this system has been encouraging: "we are resolving cases faster than we are charging them, and that's great news." The office has also invested in an Axon digital evidence management system to handle photographs, audio, and video communications. While this system has been free in the past, it will now require funding — a supplemental budget request the council will see soon. Physical improvements have matched the technological upgrades. The office converted former copy rooms into offices, taking advantage of the paperless transition, and redesigned workstations to improve communication and morale. Perhaps most tellingly, the office has formed a softball team to build camaraderie — though Richey sheepishly admitted the public defenders "clobbered us" in their …
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### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee met on November 5, 2025, for a comprehensive review of criminal justice operations and planning. The meeting featured three major presentations: Prosecutor Eric Richie's annual report on office operations and caseload pressures, a Justice Center project update on construction progress and community commitments, and a detailed presentation on the Behavioral Care Center model from the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force workgroup. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Prosecutorial Diversion:** A process where prosecutors can divert defendants away from traditional criminal proceedings into treatment programs before formal charges are filed or early in the process. **Behavioral Care Center (BCC):** A proposed treatment facility that would serve as an alternative to incarceration for individuals with mental health or substance use disorders who have been arrested. **In-Custody vs. Out-of-Custody Model:** The fundamental design decision for the BCC—whether it operates as a secure facility (in-custody) or as a voluntary treatment center (out-of-custody) that participants can leave. **Sequential Intercept Model:** A framework for understanding points where interventions can redirect people with mental health issues away from the criminal justice system. **IMD (Institution for Mental Diseases):** Federal regulations that affect Medicaid reimbursement for certain types of mental health facilities, influencing how the BCC can be structured and funded. **Justice Implementation Plan:** The comprehensive plan developed for how to spend the sales tax revenue approved by voters for justice system improvements. **Lead (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion):** An existing pre-booking diversion program that connects people to services instead of jail for certain low-level offenses. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Barry Buchanan | Committee Chair | | Jon Scanlon | Committee Member | | Eric Richie | Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney | | Adam Johnson | STV Project Manager for Justice Center | | Peter Frazier | IPRTF Co-Chair | | Heather Flaherty | IPRTF Co-Chair | | Caleb Erickson | Sheriff's Office Chief Corrections Deputy | | Laura Christensen | Health and Community Services | | Eric Sigmar | Prosecutor's Office representative | | Stark Follis | Public Defender | | Kayla Schott-Bresler | Executive's Office | ### Background Context This meeting occurred during a critical planning phase for W…
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Public Safety Transportation & Infrastructure Government Operations AB 2025 619 AB 2025 739 AB 2025 773 Dawson Construction Health Community Services Iprtf Stv Superior Court Washington Association Prosecuting Attorneys Whatcom County Prosecutors Office Whatcom County Public Defender Whatcom County Sheriffs Office Adam Johnson Barry Buchanan Caleb Erickson Eric Richey Erik Sigmar Heather Flaherty Jon Scanlon Kayla Schott Bresler Malora Christensen Peter Frazier Stark Follis Tyler Byrd Accountability Behavioral Health Budget Finance Child Support Civil Division Community Engagement Criminal Justice Jail Planning Justice Project Mental Health Prosecutorial Diversion Public Safety Recidivism Staffing Substance Abuse Technology Treatment Services Workload Study