Law Enforcement Diversion Programs

This collection provides information about options to create programs that divert individuals with substance use or mental health conditions from the justice system to treatment.

Resources featured in this collection include:

  • An overview of principles from the Police Treatment and Community Collaborative to guide pre-arrest diversion programs
  • A slide-deck presentation from the Center for Health & Justice at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities that provides more details on pre-arrest diversion programs
  • A link to the website for the Police Treatment and Community Collaborative
  • A resource guide from the SAFE Project and Police Treatment and Community Collaborative for pre-arrest diversion programs
  • A report reviewing how state policies, laws and regulations affect the ability of law enforcement and community organizations to adopt pre-arrest diversion and crisis response initiatives
  • Model legislation for creating pre-arrest diversion programs

In addition, the collection contains resources and links to websites for the following specific pre-diversion programs:

  • Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiatives (PAARI) – With PAARI initiatives, law enforcement agencies create non-arrest pathways to substance use disorder treatment and recovery:
    • A link to the PAARI website; PAARI works with over 400 police departments in 32 states
    • An evaluation of Arizona’s Angel Initiative which was piloted in Maricopa County and expanded into other parts of the state
    • A link to the Arizona Angel Initiative website
    • A report from Addiction Policy Forum on Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Blue Heroin Addiction Recovery and Treatment (HART) program
    • A link to the website for the Yellow Line Project in Blue Earth County, Minnesota including a tool-kit with sample policies and forms
    • A link to the Gloucester, Massachusetts Police Department’s ANGEL program’s website
    • A link to the website for Scarborough Maine Police Department Operation HOPE: Heroin-Opiate Prevention Effort
  • Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) – LEAD programs join law enforcement with community outreach workers to reach people with unmet behavioral health needs:
    • A link to the LEAD National Support bureau which provides training, technical assistance and support to LEAD programs
    • A 12 minute video that explains the LEAD program through a conversation with a client, police officer and case manager
    • A 3 minute video featuring the story of an individual assisted by Seattle’s LEAD program
  • Quick Response Team – This team in Cabell County-Huntington, West Virginia follows-up with individuals who have experienced an opioid overdose:
    • A 2 minute video about the West Virginia Quick Response Team
    • A slide-deck that explains the Quick Response Team model
    • A brochure describing the Quick Response Team
  • Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) – CIT teams are collaborations between law enforcement, mental health professionals and mental health care advocates to address metal health crises in their communities:
    • An overview of the core elements of CIT
    • An implementation guide for creating a CIT program in your community
    • A guide from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on using data to evaluate and support CIT programs

Finally, this collection includes reports from the National League of Cities that profile community efforts to address the interrelated challenges of substance use, mental health, and homelessness:

  • An overview of community initiatives to divert individuals from justice system involvement to treatment
  • A report describing innovative programs in San Antonio, Texas; Huntington, West Virginia; and Wichita, Kansas
  • A report describing 5 challenges policymakers faced when creating these programs and how they addressed those challenges
  • Case studies of programs in:

If you have additional materials we should consider including in this collection, please see our call for submissions page.

Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers

Principles to Guide Behavioral Health Practice in Pre-Arrest Diversion Programs

Source: The Police Treatment and Community Collaborative

The Police Treatment and Community Collaborative (PTACC) works to help law enforcement, treatment providers and their community partners develop alternative pathways to arrest and prosecution for individuals with substance use disorder and mental health conditions. This document defines the guiding principles for their work and briefly review the 5 pathways PTACC has designed for pre-arrest diversion programs.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Police Treatment and Community Collaborative

Source: Police Treatment and Community Collaborative

Website for the Police Treatment and Community Collaborative (PTACC), an alliance of individuals working in law enforcement, behavioral health, community, advocacy, research and public policy whose mission is to enhance pre-arrest diversion pathways to treatment and social services.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Law Enforcement Pre-Arrest Diversion Resource Guide

Source: SAFE Project

A resource guide to help law-enforcement agencies create pre-arrest diversion programs for individuals with substance use disorder from the SAFE Project and the Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Statewide Policies Relating to Pre-arrest Diversion and Crisis Response

Source: R Street

This report from the R Street Institute highlights how state policies, laws and regulations affect the ability of law enforcement and community organizations to adopt pre-arrest diversion and crisis response initiatives related to the addiction crisis.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Model Deflection to Treatment Act

Source: National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws, Police Treatment And Community Collaborative, Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities

This model legislation is designed to help state legislatures create programs in their states that allow law enforcement officers to divert some individuals with substance use disorders or mental health conditions away from arrest and prosecution to treatment and other supportive services.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative

Source: Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative

The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) helps police departments create non-arrest pathways to substance use disorder treatment and recovery like the ANGEL program in Gloucester, Massachusetts. PAARI works with over 400 police departments in 32 states and helps communities customize

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Arizona Angel Initiative – Feasibility of Expanding Throughout Arizona

Source: Arizona Governor's Office

The Arizona Angel Initiative is Arizona’s version of a Police-Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) like the one piloted in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Individuals with substance use disorder can contact law enforcement for assistance in accessing treatment. This report details the

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Arizona Angel Initiative

Source: Arizona Governor's Office of Youth, Faith and Family

This website is for the Arizona Angel Initiative, a police assisted addiction recovery program where law enforcement officers help connect individuals with substance use disorder connect to treatment.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Spotlight: Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Blue Heroin Addiction Recovery and Treatment (HART)

Evidence Ranking: Potential

Source: Addiction Policy Forum

An overview of the Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office efforts to work with law enforcement to provide access to treatment and recovery for community members with substance use disorders (SUD). The Blue Heroin Addiction Recovery & Treatment (HART) program began with enhanced naloxone distribution to first responders in 2013, expanded to providing recovery support coaches to patients seen in the emergency department for an opioid overdose, and led to creating treatment intake stations at 6 Ocean County police stations. Part of the Addiction Policy Forum’s Spotlight series which highlights innovative programs to address the opioid crisis.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Yellow Line Project

Evidence Ranking: Promising

Source: Yellow Line Project-Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Website for the Yellow Line Project in Blue Earth County, Minnesota which is a collaboration between law enforcement, human services and care providers to improve coordination and access to treatment for individuals with substance use or mental health conditions in lieu of in incarceration.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Gloucester Police Department ANGEL Program

Source: Gloucester Police Department

This is the website for the Gloucester, Massachusetts Police Department’s ANGEL program where people with substance use disorder can ask the police department for help and department staff will assist them in getting treatment. People will not be arrested, jailed or charged with a crime. The website includes links to the program’s official policy as well as letters of support from area law enforcement and other organizations.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Operation HOPE: Heroin-Opiate Prevention Effort

Source: Scarborough Maine Police Department

This is the website for the Scarborough, Maine police department’s Operation HOPE program where people with opioid use disorder can ask the police department for help and department staff will assist them in getting treatment. The website includes program policies, a list of frequently asked questions, and numerous videos.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

LEAD National Support Bureau

Evidence Ranking: Promising

Source: Public Defender Association

Website for the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, a community-based diversion program intended to improve public safety while reducing unnecessary incarceration and justice system involvement for low-level offenders. LEAD also has a goal to fund sustainable and effective

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program Video

Source: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program

A 12 minute video that explains the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program through a conversation with a client, police officer and case management. The LEAD program seeks to provide a pre-diversion program that treats addiction as a public health issue rather than seeking arrest and court involvement.

Video
Policymakers & Community Leaders

She Literally Saved My Life: How the LEAD Program in Seattle is Helping Those in Crisis

Source: Arnold Ventures

This 3 minute video features the story of an individual who was assisted by Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program. It includes interviews with case managers, law enforcement officers, and recipients of service and explains how the program improves outcomes for individuals in the community.

Video
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Quick Response Team: Lives on the Line

Source: Huntington, West Virginia Quick Response Team

A 2 and a half minute video about how the Cabell-County-Huntington, West Virginia Quick Response Team works to engage community members with substance use disorders in treatment. Funding Source:  West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Video
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Huntington Quick Response Team

Evidence Ranking: Promising

Source: Prestera Center, Huntington Comprehensive Treatment Center, Recovery Point West Virginia, Huntington Police, Huntington Black Pastors Association, Cabell County Emergency Medical Services

These presentation slides describe the Huntington, West Virginia Quick Response Team (QRT) which is a partnership of substance use disorder treatment providers, law enforcement, first responders, and faith-based community members. The QRT’s mission is to follow up on individuals

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers
Patients & Caregivers

Huntington Quick Response Team Brochure

Source: Cabell County Emergency Medical Services, Huntington Police Department, Recovery Point, Huntington Comprehensive Treatment Center, & Prestera Center

This 2018 brochure describes the Huntington, West Virginia opioid overdose Quick Response Team (QRT). The QRT responds to opioid overdoses in the community within 24 to 72 hours by attempting to contact the individual in the community and provide an opportunity for substance use

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Crisis Intervention Team Core Elements

Source: CIT International

An overview of the core elements of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model, a collaboration of law enforcement, mental health care providers, and mental health care advocates that works to improve crisis intervention services during mental health crises. Originated in Memphis, Tennessee, this document defines and describes the core elements of the CIT model which has been adopted in communities across the country and internationally.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Programs: A Best Practice Guide for Transforming Community Responses to Mental Health Crises

Source: Usher, L. et. al., Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) International

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs are collaborations between law enforcement, mental health professionals, and mental health advocates that work to improve community responses to mental health crises. This implementation guide from CIT International outlines the steps community leaders can take to design, implement and sustain CIT programs in their communities.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Methods for Using Data to Inform Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

This 2018 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides guidance for collecting data to evaluate Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs for intervening in mental health and substance use disorder crises. One of the core elements of the CIT model is to use evaluation and research to sustain CIT programs. This guidance is specifically to assist CIT programs in developing their data collection and evaluation plans.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Mental Illness, Substance Use, and Homelessness: Advancing Coordinated Solutions Through Local Leadership

Source: National League of Cities

This first report in a series from the National League of Cities focuses on how local leadership addresses the interrelated challenges of mental illness, substance use and homelessness. This report focuses on communities that have implemented innovative programs to divert individuals in crisis to treatment and services rather than law enforcement sanctions.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Emergency Response and Crisis Stabilization: Cities Leading the Way

Source: National League of Cities

This third report in a series from the National League of Cities focuses on how local leadership addresses the interrelated challenges of mental illness, substance use and homelessness. This report describes 5 challenges leaders face in creating innovative emergency response or crisis stabilization programs:

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Indianapolis, Indiana: Enhancing Emergency Response Through a Mobile Crisis Assistance Team

Evidence Ranking: Potential

Source: National League of Cities

This case study on the Indianapolis, Indiana police department’s Mobile Crisis Assistance Team (MCAT) was produced by the National League of Cities as part of their series on local efforts to address the interrelated challenges of mental illness, substance use, and homelessness.

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