Public Safety Strategy Area

Public Safety Workgroup

The Public Safety Workgroup encompasses a myriad of stakeholders from the criminal justice system working together to promote public safety. This workgroup includes national organizations as well as leaders from jurisdictions across the nation who are engaged in one or more of the pathways of pre-arrest diversion (PAD). Through collaboration, the Public Safety workgroup produces webinars, resources for the field, and connects jurisdictions looking for training and technical assistance with support and guidance. Leaders from areas that have implemented PAD programs lend their expertise and share lessons learned to shape the work of PTACC nationally, while national organizations, like the Civil Citation Network, International Association of Chiefs of Police, LEAD Support Bureau, and Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative, facilitate information-sharing and augment the reach of PTACC’s work and message. Additionally, this workgroup provides the unique front-line public safety perspective to the other workgroups to further their understanding of how criminal justice stakeholders define roles, responsibilities, and priorities.

Below are resources and information available from the field on law enforcement and pre-arrest diversion

INFORMATION ON PRE-ARREST DIVERSION

The IACP’s Safety and Justice Challenge Resource Page is a collection of resources and information on diversion initiatives, including a webinar series on how law enforcement can take steps to create a pre-arrest diversion program by partnering with local behavioral health agencies.

The Diversion Hub is a learning exchange that focuses on resource innovation in harm reduction. Funded by the Open Society Institute and housed on the University of Pretrial website, the community creates opportunities for peer-to-peer information and learning by stakeholders across the country involved in diversion initiatives. Additionally, the Hub had information on a series of TA providers that can support jurisdictions in diversion program development and implementation at all intercept points within the criminal justice continuum, including pre-arrest and pre-booking.

The Center for Health and Justice at TASC has worked nationally on pre-arrest diversion models, including providing training and consulting to jurisdictions developing and implementing diversion initiatives. Through their substantial work on this issue, TASC has numerous PAD-related resources, articles, and reports, including a presentation on the intersection of public safety and public health in pre-arrest diversion and one on the Naloxone Plus Pathway for jurisdictions impacted by the opioid epidemic. For those police leaders looking to start a PAD program, TASC has developed a decision-making tool that defines the various pathways of pre-arrest diversion and helps users determine the appropriate pathway(s) for addressing the challenge(s) faced by their jurisdictions.

NATIONAL MODELS WITH RESOURCES AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITIES

The LEAD® (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) National Support Bureau responds to the national demand for strategic guidance and technical support to local jurisdictions developing, or thinking about implementing, LEAD® The National Support Bureau resources specify the core principles and roles of system actors, including public safety groups such as law enforcement. The LEAD®-model program can be adapted to meet the needs of the jurisdiction, but must still follow the core principles, which are essential to achieve the outcomes of the original LEAD program in Seattle. The LEAD National Support Bureau has evaluations that assess the success of the program in terms of recidivism, client outcomes, participant perspectives, and legal system utilization & associated costs.

The LEAD Bureau is committed to responding to requests for information and support from the more than 60 jurisdictions nationally where individuals, community groups, civic leaders, and others are exploring, developing, or operating LEAD programs. For more information on contacting the bureau please see leadbureau.org.

One way jurisdictions interested in TTA from the LEAD National Support Bureau is through the Bureau of Justice Assistance National Training and Technical Assistance Center at 855-252-8822 or [email protected]. There is an online portal for requesting technical assistance; to request tailored help from the LEAD National Support Bureau, type “LEAD National Support Bureau” in the requested provider box. If not approved, the LEAD Bureau will still work with jurisdictions within existing resource constraints.

The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (PAARI) provides support and resources to help law enforcement agencies nationwide create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery. Recognizing that law enforcement has a front row seat to the opioid epidemic and are in a unique position to prevent overdose deaths, in June 2015 the Gloucester Police Department launched the Angel Program, which created a simple, stigma-free entry point to treatment on demand and reframed addiction as a disease, not a crime. PAARI was founded as a nonprofit alongside the Angel Program to help law enforcement agencies create non-arrest programs that prevent and reduce overdose deaths and expand access to treatment and recovery.

Now a national network of more than 400 police departments in 32 states, PAARI primarily supports non-arrest, or early diversion program models that reach people before they enter the criminal justice system. Programs are customized based on the community and can utilize multiple law enforcement entry points to treatment, including self-referrals to the station and risk or incident-based outreach. Cross-sector collaboration and partnerships are vital to these programs and they are often supported by clinicians, social workers, recovery coaches, and/or trained volunteers.

Any law enforcement or public safety agency that creates non-arrest pathways to treatment can join PAARI free of cost to access resources such as technical assistance, coaching, program templates and tools, seed grants, c onvenings, connections to treatment providers, a network of like-minded law enforcement agencies, and capacity building and recovery coaches through AmeriCorps. To join or request more information and support, please visit paariusa.org and complete the online form

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Center provides comprehensive information on CITs and the core elements that are based on the “Memphis Model,” a form of pre-arrest diversion for individuals in mental health crisis. This center provides sample policies and procedures, a map of existing CIT programs across the country, and a guide for how to start a CIT program that includes suggested curricula for training law enforcement.

CIVIL CITATIONS AND CITATION IN LIEU OF ARREST

The Civil Citation Network integrates law enforcement, behavioral health intervention and support services, and partner stakeholders for straightforward management of citations. It allows first-time misdemeanor offenders to avoid arrest and jail, along with their collateral consequences, while still being held accountable for their offenses. This website has information, research, and resources on both juvenile and adult civil citation programs. If in-depth assistance is needed, the Network has a consultation option.

The IACP’s Citation in Lieu of Arrest page reviews existing models and research through a comprehensive literature review, report, and trifold summary that cover the benefits, concerns, and challenges of citation as a diversion tool.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INITIATIVES

The IACP’s One Mind Campaign encourages law enforcement agencies to take concrete steps toward improving the police response to persons affected by mental illness by taking a pledge to implement four promising practices. The Campaign also tracks, recognizes, and celebrates the agencies that have completed the pledge.

Serving Safely is a national initiative of the Vera Institute of Justice designed to improve interactions between police and persons affected by mental illness and developmental disabilities. This effort, which is funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), will provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement and partnering agencies; centralize, develop, and disseminate resources for the field; and develop a research agenda that identifies knowledge gaps.

The Stepping Up Initiative is focused on reducing the number of people in jail with mental illness. This initiative website provides resources and a toolkit that can assist jurisdictions in planning and implementing programs and policies to accomplish this goal. Communities are encouraged to join the growing number of counties across the country that have passed a resolution in support of the Stepping Up initiative.

PRETRIAL JUSTICE

The IACP’s Pretrial Justice Initiative page provides resources and information on the role of law enforcement in pretrial justice, how to ensure law enforcement has a voice in conversations about pretrial justice system changes, and why pretrial justice should be considered a priority for law enforcement.

The Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI) provides information and resources on pretrial justice practices and policies for criminal justice stakeholders, the public, and the media. PJI also documents the problems associated with pretrial systems based on money (money bail) and explores commonsense alternatives—such as diversion and community-based support services—that lead to fairer and more effective system outcomes.

SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER

BJA’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) has a strategic focus on combatting the opioid epidemic to reduce the number of fatal overdoses and to protect the American people. Broadly, COAP’s goals are to: (1) reduce opioid abuse and misuse and the number of overdose fatalities; and (2) support the implementation and enhancement of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). COAP focuses on systemwide initiatives, as well as innovative approaches, to promote substance abuse treatment and recovery support. The materials in the COAP Resource Center support effective state, tribal, and local responses to the opioid epidemic, including educational materials, including newsletters, no–cost webinars, podcasts, printable fact sheets, and resources from federal agencies and stakeholder partners; descriptions of effective programs being implemented throughout the United States; access to services, support, and resources of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center; profiles of BJA grantee sites across the nation; and funding and training and technical assistance opportunities.