Diversion
At a time when incarceration costs are eating up
large percentages of limited state budgets, lawmakers, judges, police,
prosecutors and defenders all agree – diverting people from the
criminal justice system is a good thing. In addition to avoiding
unnecessary expense, diversion also helps people avoid criminal
convictions and the many negative consequences that flow from them. For
community defenders diversion programs aid in both addressing the needs
of individual clients and establishing problem-solving policy reforms
that benefit entire communities.
Defenders play a vital role in
developing diversion programs in their jurisdictions, and identifying
stages when clients can be re-routed out of the system – upon arrest,
at arraignment or first appearance in court, through mediation with the
prosecutors, or in lieu of a term of incarceration. Some defenders are
also involved in developing problem-solving courts, like homeless court
and drug court, designed to resolve criminal charges and solve the
underlying issues that lead to involvement in the system, while
avoiding terms of incarceration.