Legislatively, it’s her post as chair of the Council’s Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice that touches on her passion projects. Campbell notes that her district is disproportionately affected by crime and incarceration. As an advocate for the much-debated body camera pilot program, she is working to set up oversight milestones to get as much feedback as possible during the initial run of the 100-officer program.

“My goal is not just to have a hearing at the end of the six months, but possibly something three months or four months in to get a sense of how it’s going,” Campbell said. Officers at public meetings who are familiarizing the community with the body cameras have said “the feedback has been fantastic,” she said.

Under her watch, the committee has expanded to include criminal justice, bringing up issues such as re-entry, incarceration rates, and resources for those in the criminal justice system. She is also gearing up for broad conversations on issues like bail bonds, court fees, and creative alternative ways to pay off those fees if a family is unable to afford them. Mandatory minimum sentences and funding for reentry programs are other matters being looked at.

“There are a whole bunch of things we can tackle,” she said, “so [we are] really narrowing down that list to concrete things we know we can accomplish this time around. We’re not going to get everything on that list... I’d like to say yes to everything, given how passionate I am about these issues.”

The timing is right for a broad conversation on the topic, Campbell said. A working group led by the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments is eight months into a statewide criminal justice policy review. The group will recommend reforms and investments to reduce corrections costs, reduce recidivism, and improve public safety.

The criminal justice side of the public safety committee will be officially launched later this year, Campbell said, with a community forum in partnership with Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins that will tackle the effects of incarceration on communities.

“At the policy level, when we’re talking about mass incarceration and criminal justice reform, those who are on the ground have, one, or maybe no idea what we’re talking about, or don’t feel a part of those conversations,” Campbell said. “So rather than assume we know what the effects of incarceration are on families and individuals in a community, [we are] actually going out and having this conversation and forum and listening to them, taking those thoughts and ideas back to inform how we advocate for policy change and legislative change in the fall and in the new year.”