photo by: Mackenzie Clark/Journal-World File Photo

In this Journal-World file photo from June 11, 2019, roughly 50 members of the public attend the Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council meeting at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. Speaking at the lectern is Robert Bieniecki, then-criminal justice coordinator.

The Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council will meet via Zoom Tuesday to discuss issues including racial disparities and the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the local jail, according to its agenda.

Matt Cravens, data analyst for the CJCC, will give a presentation on racial disparities in local criminal justice, though his report was not yet included with the meeting agenda as of Monday afternoon.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Capts. Wes Houk and Stacy Simmons will present a report on the impacts of COVID-19 on the Douglas County Jail and criminal justice processing, according to the agenda. The Journal-World has previously reported about a drop in the jail’s population since the pandemic hit. As of Monday, the captains’ report was not yet available; however, jail records indicated 154 inmates were in custody, still down from about 200 in January and well below the average daily populations for 2018 and 2019 — 235 and 219, respectively.

In addition, the CJCC will hear from city and county leaders. Lawrence Mayor Jennifer Ananda is set to discuss implicit bias training for the CJCC, and Douglas County Commission Chair Patrick Kelly has a “Challenge to CJ partners,” according to the agenda.

The Journal-World reported last week on Ananda’s call for two city boards to take action regarding issues of police bias and systemic racism. Kelly on Wednesday asked for further discussion around the planned expansion of the Douglas County Jail.

The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. via Zoom, an online videoconferencing platform. The link to join the meeting is available with the meeting agenda at douglascountyks.org.