Current Issue Work
Criminal Justice Timeline of Events
Arresting children needs to...STOP!
2021
In 2021, JUST Pensacola launched a bold campaign for criminal justice reform because our children were being arrested. We pushed the State Attorney to use Juvenile Civil Citations—and she said yes.
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A juvenile civil citation is a pre-arrest alternative that holds young people accountable through community service, counseling, or treatment: without giving them a criminal record. Since then, over 400 children have avoided being labeled as criminals.
But we didn’t stop there.
2023
In 2019, more than 5,000 adults in Escambia County were arrested for nonviolent misdemeanors: arrests that create lifelong barriers and deepen injustice. At our 2023 Action, we won a major victory: the launch of an Adult Civil Citation program in January 2024. This program holds adults accountable without arrest and saves over $4,600 per case.
2024
In 2024, we uncovered a troubling drop in juvenile citation usage, from 67% down to 28% in the county and 40% in the city, the lowest rates in Florida.
So we acted.
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2025
At our 2025 Action, the State Attorney committed to real accountability: training law enforcement, sharing quarterly data, and meeting with our team to ensure these programs are used, and used justly.
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Photo of St. Atty. Ginger Bowden Madden speaking at JUST Pensacola's 2025 Nehemiah Action Assembly. Credit to Jeb Hunt.
2026
Now we are in the monitoring phase, and the fight continues.​
On April 7th, JUST Pensacola & CivicCon are hosting a Criminal Justice Workshop: From Crisis to Collaboration, featuring Percy Glover.
​In May, the Criminal Justice Steering Committee will meet with the new Pensacola Chief of Police, Eric Winstrom, to discuss civil citations. ​
The steering committee continues to meet with the State Attorney’s office and to receive quarterly updates on the usage of adult and juvenile civil citations.
JUST...for Justice!
Watch: Adult Civil Citations Explanation and Testimony
Mrs. Jean Blackmon gave this update on our work in 2021. She also introduces Mr. Michael McVoy, who shares a personal testimony from his life about an unnecessary arrest. This is a powerful story about the personal impact of an arrest for a nonviolent misdemeanor offense.
Interact: Explore the Juvenile Justice Citation Dashboard
The Criminal Justice Steering Committee consists of Rev. Dr. Paul Blackmon, Rev. Dr. Rick Branch, Rev. Kammy Young, Michael McVoy, James Westmark, Paula Montgomery, Angelena Leroy, Monique Simmons & Chris Simmons.