ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Communities are coming together to crack down on crime along the I-95 corridor including Orangeburg, Calhoun, and Clarendon counties. Stakeholders from these counties participated in a meeting to start an ongoing dialogue to get to the root of the problem.
The plan is to team up with the Aspen Institute Criminal Justice Reform Initiative to take a closer look at why crimes are happening, and figure out ways to prevent them.
“When you are losing our youth to people moving, some people with criminal actions, we need to strengthen the entire corridor," said community advocate Yvette McDaniel.
The initiative's Justice and Governance partnership is targeted at communities most impacted by the criminal justice system. They are looking to create what's called a justice audit, which will break down various costs associated with the local justice system on a neighborhood level. This includes traffic stops and prosecutions.
Once they gather that information, this will help them create a justice plan.
From there, they can evaluate how funds can be reinvested to support these communities.
“For those who do happen to find themselves incarcerated, when they re-enter our communities, what’s waiting for them? Is it a set up for failure if they don’t have housing, if they can’t get a job, if they can’t get healthcare. The more of those factors that exist increases the potential of recidivism," said Zenobia Edwards of the Aspen Institute.
The Aspen Institute is holding various meetings along the I-95 corridor to engage the community in conversation. Next week, they will be in Marlboro. For more information about the initiative, visit the Aspen Institute website.