Buncombe County has made significant strides since joining the Safety + Justice Challenge. Collaborative initiatives to increase efficiencies and decrease inequities have been implemented between the Sheriff’s Office, Detention Center, Public Defender’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, District Court Judges, the County Clerk’s Office, Justice Services staff, and other court partners. This enhanced collaboration enabled the county to respond quickly during the pandemic, which posed an unprecedented threat to our community. 

Buncombe County kept our community safe by reducing the average monthly jail population by 30% between February 2019 and January 2021, surpassing the original goal of a 15% decrease. During this time, an increased number of people charged with lower-level offenses were released without having to pay bail/bond. Strikingly, these individuals did not have increased recidivism. In 2019, the percentage of people released pretrial who returned to custody for a new charge within 6 months was 23.5%. In 2020 it was 21.4%.

Though the jail population decreased as a response to Covid, it has since been slowly rising and racial inequities in the system persist. In fact, since 2020, there has been an increase in the overrepresentation of the Black population in jail. The percentage of Black population in Buncombe County is 6%. For September 2023, the average daily Black population in the Buncombe County Detention Center was 31.2%. 

These challenges reinforce the importance of Buncombe County’s commitment to reaching our goals of the Safety & Justice Challenge to decrease our local jail population and eliminate racial inequities in the system. 

• Enhanced coordination and collaboration between justice system partners.
• Dedicated Racial Equity Workgroup and an Equity and Inclusion Specialist guides work to eliminate disparities and advance racial equity across the justice system.
• Focused Case Processing Workgroup and Jail Review Team aim to increase efficiencies in case processing to keep jail stays to a minimum.
• Community-led Community Engagement Workgroup provides listening sessions and outreach within neighborhoods across Buncombe County.
• A Court Navigator helps people navigate the courthouse and access services.
• Implemented sign-ups for Buncombe County-specific Court Reminder System developed by Code with Asheville to reduce arrests for failure to appear in court.
• Increased provision of driver’s license restoration and expungement services.
• Sophisticated data collection and analysis enables data-driven decision making and comprehension of our local jail population.
• Community safety and anti-violence work helps keep communities safe from gun violence by providing education, activities, and services to support young people.
• Sponsored report by the Vera Institute of Justice on women jailed in Buncombe County [Read report here].
• Assistant District Attorney (ADA) and Assistant Public Defender (APD) positions were added to help efforts to reduce the pretrial jail population. Both positions regularly participate in the Jail Review Team that was created to address bond hearings and case depositions. The APD has helped expand access to defense counsel at first appearance.
• The Public Safety Assessment (PSA) was implemented to provide judges with an impartial, evidence-based risk assessment to consider, in addition to other data used, to better inform their pretrial decision-making process.
• Pretrial Screener Positions were added to assist in the implementation of the PSA.
• Increased Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Diversion Services staff available in the detention center.
• Familiar Faces Task Force was created to help reduce recidivism and improve quality of care for individuals who frequently cycle through the jail.