Creating a council to help coordinate local criminal justice efforts is a great idea for Douglas County.

County commissioners agreed this week to put the creation of a Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council on their Wednesday meeting agenda. Establishing this council fits perfectly with the county’s efforts to plan programs and facilities that help reduce recidivism at the jail and provide better options for people with mental health issues.

The council would include representatives from Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, county and city government, Douglas County District Court, the district attorney’s office and the county’s law enforcement agencies. Many of those entities were part of a discussion on Wednesday about plans to expand the county jail and create a new mental health crisis intervention center.

Commissioner Mike Gaughan pointed to a similar council in Johnson County that has worked to coordinate efforts in a number of areas: addressing the causes of crime, identifying alternatives to incarceration and seeking strategies to reduce the number of inmates who return to jail. The Douglas County council would have similar goals aimed at improving both the county’s criminal justice system and its mental health services.

Also on Wednesday county commissioners voted to approach plans for the jail, the crisis center and a new mental health court as a package deal. That decision along with the creation of the new council acknowledges the need to coordinate those efforts and confirms the commission’s commitment to an integrated strategy.

Bringing law enforcement, government and mental health professionals to the table gives the county the best chance of finding ways to make the local justice system better not only for those inside the system but for the community as a whole. It’s a sound strategy that county residents should support.