Background & Approach
Summit County encompasses the Akron, Ohio metropolitan area. The county implemented a county-wide Felony Summons Initiative, where participating policing agencies issue summonses instead of making arrests for a range of low-level, non-violent felony offenses. This effort helped Summit County tackle over-incarceration and helped reduce the overall jail population. The goal was to have people live in the community, where they can be supported, while progressing through the pretrial and trial process.
Summit County continues to engage with the Safety and Justice Challenge Network to rethink and redesign its criminal justice system so that it is more fair, just, and equitable for all.
