PRE-ARREST DIVERSION

LEAD Detroit

City officials are currently developing a Detroit-based LEAD or Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program. There are currently several LEAD programs in operation and at various stages of development across the country. Essentially, LEAD programs allow police officers to exercise discretionary authority at the point of contact to divert individuals to a community-based, harm-reduction intervention for law violations involving substance use Individuals avoid punitive action via the traditional criminal legal system (i.e., booking, pre-trial detention, trial, incarceration, etc.). Instead, individuals are referred to a trauma-informed intensive case-management program where the individual receives a wide range of support services, often including transitional and permanent housing and substance use treatment.

Challenges

One of the fundamental faults of LEAD programs is the vesting of discretionary authority to law enforcement, where it is notoriously difficult to implement oversight checks. In addition, the program ’ s scope is limited to specific offenses, none of which currently include violence, which is often tied to substance use. Overall, the premise of the model, circumventing legal processes altogether, offers a promising foundation on which to build alternative, community-based models of diversion.

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