The County of Adams in the state of Pennsylvania, which is approximately 519 sq. miles, was officially designated as a 5th class county in 2012 and has seen a steady increase in population for the last several years. According to the 2010 US census, Caucasians make up 90% of the population with Hispanics representing 6% and African-Americans another 2%. The approximate population size of the County is 101,546 and the County seat is in Gettysburg, PA.

The unique population and its diverse nature; comprised of both urban and rural areas; has presented interesting challenges to public officials in addressing the needs of the populous in Adams County. As development pushes in from the north, south and eastern ends of the county there has been an ever increasing demand on the limited resources within our boundaries.

With the influx of growth, the strain on the Adams County Criminal Justice System has been increasing as well, especially in regard to the tightening of governmental budgets and the responsible use of these limited resources. The Adams County Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) was formed in 2007 by public official as a forum that could address the issues facing the criminal justice system locally, while responsibly addressing the needs of the Adams County citizenry.

Prior to the inception of the CJAB, there was little effort to organize county criminal justice departments and initiatives. A forum did not exist that brought together all of the county criminal justice entities to focus on holistic organizational needs and to address those needs in a collective manner. The development of a county-based criminal justice policy board created the forum to begin a comprehensive, organized system approach to focusing on criminal justice issues in Adams County.

In September of 2007, stakeholders in the Adams County criminal justice system, with the assistance of the Pennsylvania Prison Society and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, formed the Adams County Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB). The Board approved by consensus the creation of the Executive Committee consisting of the CJAB chair, vice-chair, an at-large member, and the standing committee chairs.

During the first few months of operation, the Policy Committee met to re-evaluate the guidelines to address Board membership and voting rights. The guidelines were adopted as the Adams County Criminal Justice Advisory Board Bylaws on November 8, 2007. Three standing committees were formed at this time; the Policy Committee, the Grants Committee, and the Technology Committee and individuals were recommended to each by the Board.

In January of 2008, an ad hoc committee was formed to begin the search for a CJAB Coordinator whose role would be to assist with operations of the CJAB and to seek funding opportunities for CJAB initiatives. This committee put together a funding proposal for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and a coordinator's grant was approved by that agency in the spring of 2008. On July 1st, 2008, the County of Adams and the Court of Common Pleas hired its first Criminal Justice Advisory Board Coordinator.