Improve Recovery Support for People in the Criminal Justice System
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Brief Description
SAFE Solutions Strategy: Improve Recovery Support for People in the Criminal Justice System
Introductory Paragraph
Arrests, convictions, and incarcerations continue to increase each year. Substance use is common among justice-involved individuals. More than half of those In US prisons and jails meet the criteria for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). As the opioid epidemic unfolds, correctional institutions are looking for best practices that they can use to help handle the increased demand for substance abuse and addiction treatment. Prior research suggests that substance use can be associated with poorer outcomes among individuals including those under supervision in the community.
A 2014 Pew Trusts study has shown more Imprisonment does not reduce drug related Issues. This study reinforces a large body of prior research that cast doubt on the theory that tough prison terms deter drug misuse, distribution, and other drug-law violations. The evidence strongly suggests that policymakers should pursue alternative strategies that research shows work better. Many states are revising their drug penalties and focusing on prevention, treatment and recovery,
By integrating evidence-informed practices, criminal justice agencies and communities can save lives and decrease costs associated with criminal justice system and healthcare system involvement.
Key Information
Treatment Courts & Law Enforcement
65% of US Inmates have a substance use disorder. https://www.nadcp.org/treatment-courts-work/
In the late 1980s alternatives such as drug courts emerged as an innovative approach when professionals recognized the importance of treating substance use and mental health in order to prevent relapse and recidivism. The drug court approach Intention Is to reduce time in the criminal just system and provide treatment to individuals. Treatment courts are the single most successful intervention in our nation’s history for leading people living with substance use and mental health disorders out of the justice system and into lives of recovery and stability. Instead of punishment treatment courts offer a holistic approach to treatment. Through supervision, education, and resources, and providing evidence-based treatment drug courts provide success In breaking cycles, reducing stigma resulting In reform.
Police Treatment And Community Collaborative
The Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC) is an alliance of practitioners in law enforcement, behavioral health, community, advocacy, research, and public policy, whose mission is to strategically widen community behavioral health and social service options available through law enforcement diversion. The purpose of the Collaborative is to provide vision, leadership, advocacy, and education to facilitate the practice of pre-arrest diversion across the United States. PTACC is the national voice of the pre-arrest diversion and deflection field.
PTACC is organized in six strategic areas, but more are planned (e.g., Special Populations, Families and Children). Working within each strategic area are “workgroups,” or teams of practitioners who create resources, guides, webinars, and other deliverables to be used to guide the practice of early diversion programs. The existing areas are:
Pre-Arrest Diversion
Early diversion programs provide an alternative to arrest for individuals with substance use and/or mental health disorders, as well as for low-risk offenders, and allow these individuals to avoid the collateral consequences that result from arrest and contact with the criminal justice system. This movement is data-driven and is grounded in the belief that public safety and public health approaches must work in tandem to support vulnerable individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) and/or mental illness (MI). Instead of shifting responsibility or cost from one system actor to another, this collaborative approach creates additional tools and supports for those on the front line, appropriate treatment for eligible individuals with SUD and/or MI, and opportunities for systemic change for leaders looking for creative solutions to complicated problems.
In addition, these programs serve the best interest of the community, individual, and taxpayers. Pre-arrest diversion and deflection programs have the added benefits of:
- Breaking the costly cycle of justice system involvement for eligible individuals;
- Increasing cross-sector collaboration to create new pathways to community-based behavioral health services;
- Enhancing relations between community members and law enforcement;
- Decreasing crime, incarceration, and recidivism rates;
- Lessening the burden on justice systems;
- Improving public health and safety;
- Reducing the burden on individuals who commit non-violent, low-level offenses;
- Ensuring equal access to pre-arrest diversion regardless of race, income, or geography; and
- Saving taxpayer dollars
For more information on pre-arrest diversion, including case studies of specific pathways, read or download Law Enforcement Pre-Arrest Diversion Resource Guide.
What are the Pathways?
PTACC recognizes that there are multiple models of pre-arrest diversion and refers to these models as “pathways,” because using one or more of them creates pathways to treatment or social services. These pathways are called “Pathways to Community” and are:
Self-Referral:Drug–‐involved individuals are encouraged to initiate the engagement with law enforcement without fear of arrest, and an immediate treatment referral is made.
Active Outreach:Participants are identified by law enforcement, but are engaged primarily by an outreach team, often with a clinician and/or a peer with lived experience, who actively contacts them and motivates them to engage in treatment.
NaloxonePlus: Engagement with treatment occurs following an overdose response and crisis-level treatment is readily available.
Officer Prevention Referral:At point of contact, law enforcement initiates the treatment engagement, but no charges are filed.
Officer Intervention Referral:At point of contact, law enforcement initiates the treatment engagement, and charges are held in abeyance or citations issued.
PTACC endorses all of these pathways and encourages communities to explore the approaches that best meet their needs. PTACC encourages availability of as many pathways as possible to maximize diversion opportunities and connection to treatment, recovery support, and community services.
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