TRENTON, NJ — The state will use $6 million in federal dollars to create a program that allows police officers to choose whether or not to pursue criminal charges against certain repeat offenders, instead directing them to community-based programs to treat their underlying concerns.
In six places, the ‘Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion’ program, or LEAD, will be implemented. It will concentrate on persons who commit low-level crimes as a result of addiction, poverty, or mental illness.
LEAD, according to Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin, will assist strengthen public confidence with law enforcement while also keeping at-risk persons out of the criminal justice system.
“Low-level criminality is often the result of poverty, drugs, or mental illness,” Platkin added. “The LEAD program gives law enforcement a tool to redirect some people away from the criminal justice system and into programs that will enhance results for them and their communities,” says the statement.
The initiative “builds an ‘off ramp’ from the criminal justice system,” according to Kelly Levy, interim director of NJ CARES (Office of the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies), for persons who aren’t taking use of accessible safety-net programs.
“Instead of locking people up, cops may go beyond the symptoms and get to the fundamental reasons of their criminal habits and disrupt the systemic cycle for those individuals,” Levy said.
Police officers may refer individuals to options such as medication-assisted treatment, health, and safety information, food, housing, legal assistance, and job training.
LEAD began in Seattle in 2011 and has now expanded to 20 states. The US Department of Justice is providing financing for the two-year initiative.
By the end of 2022, sites will be selected, with a focus on regions disproportionately affected by opioid, stimulant, and other drug usages. Admissions for treatment, overdose fatalities, and a paucity of physicians and emergency medical services will be among the criteria.
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