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Guest: Derrick Jackson, Director of Community Engagement,

Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office

 How Does Your Vote Affect Criminal Justice Reform?

High-profile police violence against black people has once again focused Americans’ attention on extreme inequities in America’s criminal justice system. Many Americans feel a new or renewed urgency to rectify this endemic disgrace. Criminal justice reform begins at your local ballot box. Do you know how your choices for county prosecutor, sheriff, and judges directly affect criminal justice in Washtenaw County? Derrick Jackson, Director of Community Engagement in the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, will discuss how candidates’ stated principles and past behavior can translate into actions that advance or impede the cause of justice locally.

Bio:

Mr. Derrick Jackson is the social worker who became a police officer who now helps to run a police agency. As the Director of Community Engagement, Mr. Jackson has spent the last 12 years designing and implementing systems that integrate social work and criminal justice theory in order to revolutionize traditional policing strategies. Derrick is a proud graduate of Eastern Michigan University where he studied social work as an undergraduate student and the University of Michigan School of Social Work for his graduate studies. As a social worker and Certified Law Enforcement Officer he has a unique perspective and role in building bridges between law enforcement and the communities they serve. He has spent the last 12 years learning, understanding, deconstructing, redesigning, and implementing systems within the Washtenaw County community that have helped reimagine the role of police within community and the role of social workers within law enforcement. Where some may see social work and law enforcement on opposite ends of the spectrum, Director Jackson redefines the spectrum and uses social work and law enforcement to enhance the impact of both.