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WCJC reviews membership rules, elects vice chair and sets 2026 priorities including juvenile services and crisis-center updates
Summary
At a full WCJC meeting, leaders explained statutory membership rules, reported Chief Jason Harvey's election as vice chair, and proposed 2026 priorities: ICE activity, behavioral-health crisis services (downtown Corvallis crisis center), justice campus infrastructure and juvenile-services coordination.
The Benton County Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (WCJC) reviewed who is legally required to serve on the council, confirmed a leadership change and opened discussion on priorities for 2026 including juvenile-services coordination and local behavioral-health infrastructure.
Chair Gabe Shepard, a county commissioner, told the full council that Chief Jason Harvey had been elected vice chair at the executive-committee meeting and outlined the council's statutory duties under state law: coordinate criminal-justice policy and planning locally, recommend use of state and county resources to supervise offenders, and develop and approve the county's Justice Reinvestment Grant program. "We elected Chief Harvey as the vice chair of WCJC," Shepard said during the update.
Council staff explained the committee structure: an executive committee composed of members required by statute meets quarterly and can take action on behalf of WCJC (those actions are reported to the full council); the full council supplements the executive committee with additional partner members and rotates some municipal seats every two years. The bylaws now designate a county commissioner as chair by default unless they decline.
The council then discussed topics proposed for 2026. The executive committee suggested work on ICE activity, behavioral-health crisis services (including updates about the downtown Corvallis crisis center), justice campus infrastructure (courthouse and potential future corrections facility), deflection program outcomes and legislative short-session impacts. Several members urged a stronger focus on juveniles and school-district coordination: Derek Herring (juvenile services supervisor) and other members called for a data-informed review of youth-service trends and for inviting superintendents and juvenile partners to a future meeting.
Why it matters: The membership rules determine which officials and agencies have direct input into how local corrections-related resources are prioritized and deployed. Council members said the body's convening power is a rare opportunity to bring together law enforcement, courts, schools and service providers.
Next steps: Members recommended scheduling a future meeting that includes juvenile-service partners and superintendents, and asked staff to include JRP engagement planning on upcoming agendas.
