 Frank Kopczynski, founder and host of Criminal Justice Forum, launched the show in the spring of 2001. Frank has worked with people in the criminal justice system for more than 17 years. He and his wife, Mary Jo, own and manage successful bail bond agencies in Pinellas and Pasco Counties in Florida. For twenty years prior to launching his business, Frank worked in health care administration.
Frank has found some trends of injustice in the system and decided to explore ways to correct them and give back to his community by informing people through this show.
He watched as the criminal justice system worked against the ordinary citizen, especially those new to it. From initial contact with law enforcement through to the sentencing process he saw that people didn’t know their rights or how to exercise them. As a result he noticed they were more likely to suffer higher fines, forfeiture of money, property and possessions, be incarcerated, and serve longer sentences. And those with wealth, power and good contacts seemed to fare far better than the poor, people of color or immigrants.
Frank believes people with mental illness and drug and alcohol addictions should be treated, not punished, and they can be treated in a more humane and cost effective manner. He believes children should be cherished as our future and not regarded as monsters. He believes political leaders need to position themselves as smart on crime, not tough on crime, and stop favoring excessively long sentences and harsh treatments which waste tax dollars.
Frank is a member of the Domestic Violence Task Force in Pinellas County and the chair of the Pinellas County Ex-offender Re-entry Coalition (PERC). He is also an active supporter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), the Pinellas Mental Health Coalition, the Pinellas Sexual Assault Coalition and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM).
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