Diversion courts are a resounding success nationwide in rehabilitating and reducing recidivism from those in the criminal justice system who struggle with a mental health or substance abuse disorder.
A panel at the Annual Meeting and Convention explored new prosecutor-led diversion programs that combine prosecutorial discretion and with community-based help to create new solutions and approaches to help those caught in cycle of crime outside their control.
The program focused primarily on the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office under Prosecutor William E. Reynolds and its efforts to address an increase in lower-level, quality-of-life offenses and in juvenile crime related to mental health and substance abuse.
As a former municipal prosecutor in Atlantic County, Reynolds said he knew every low-level offender in the area.
“At the time there was no real service or diversion program to give these people help,” he said. “I felt we needed to create these programs to help who need the help the most to not prosecute them, but give them the hand up they needed.”
As county prosecutor, he created an at-risk initiative to identify low-level repeat offenders, some of whom were charged with hundreds of crimes.
“Ultimately, that large list of people became less and less because we created these programs,” Reynolds said.
The first drug court appeared in 1989. Today there are 3,700 nationwide and over 300 mental health diversion courts.
“Nationwide we’re seeing the immense benefit of doing diversionary programs that specifically target the root causes of someone’s criminal behavior that is leading them to repeat encounters with the law,” Sarah Tamburri, of Wellness and Equity Innovations.
Bergen County launched Operation Helping Hand in 2016 to link individuals with substance use disorders to treatment and recovery services. The program is paying dividends years later with a decrease in drug deaths and those who refuse medical treatment by prioritizing community outreach among prosecutors and law enforcement, according to Assistant Prosecutor and NJSBA Trustee Daryl Williams.