Programs
December 16, 2024
Misdemeanor Diversion Program
Program overview
- Diverts individuals with misdemeanor charges to community-based services: The Misdemeanor Diversion Program (MDP) is a 90-day diversion program which intends to reduce the number of unnecessary arrests and jail time, as well as diminish the consequences of being charged with and potentially convicted of a crime. The program serves those who have no prior criminal record and who have been stopped by law enforcement officers for suspected misdemeanor criminal action, diverting them to the MDP in lieu of a criminal charge or arrest.
- Avoiding the first arrest and charge for youth and young adults: As part of the MDP, law enforcement officers refer all people at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor (except for firearm offenses, sexual offenses, and traffic matters) between the ages of 18-26 to the program, rather than issuing a citation or arresting them. This diversion occurs prearrest and precharge, meaning the individual that officers believe may have committed a crime will not formally enter the justice system.
- Offering a 90-day program to avoid criminal charges: Once participants choose to enroll in the MDP, they begin the 90-day diversion program. The program’s core components include an informal assessment, a mock court appearance, and referrals to community-based services. To complete the program, participants must not have any arrests during those 90 days. Upon completion, the case for the infraction is closed and the participant’s criminal record remains clean. Alternatively, if the participant fails to complete the program, the case is sent back to law enforcement for a possible charge.
- Leveraging a program coordinator to offer individualized support: The MDP program coordinator is responsible for onboarding participants and conducting intake interviews to determine individual needs. To reduce burden on the participant – as it can be difficult to make time for programming, especially courses that do not necessarily pertain to the participant or their needs– the MDP works to limit the amount of mandatory programming and instead chooses to only refer participants to community services that match their needs based on this intake interview. The MDP coordinator is the only full-time employee of the program.
- Hosting a mock court session as diversion programming: Every MDP participant attends a mock court session to witness the consequences of adult criminal involvement in a court setting. With this session, MDP wants participants to fully understand the legal consequences of misdemeanor offenses.
- Participation in specified to varying community programs: MDP participants must complete 10 hours of individualized community programming during the 90-day program. Based on each participant’s intake interview, the MDP coordinator connects them to the most appropriate community organizations according to their specific needs. For example, participants may need substance use education/treatment, tutoring or skills-based education, restorative justice processes, anger management group classes, and/or mental health services. All programs associated with the MDP are completely free and may be used throughout the duration of the program.
A single study with a less rigorous design suggests that MDP is a promising strategy for reducing the rates of rearrest, convictions, and jail admissions among people without a criminal record.
- In a 2021 program evaluation, new arrests of 16-17 year-olds who participated in the MDP were 19.4, 16.7, and 15.7 percentage points lower within six months, one year, and two years, than the rates among statistically matched groups of eligible nonparticipants. Additionally, participation in the MDP significantly reduced disparities in new arrests, new convictions, and jail admissions between 16-17-year-old Black and non-Black people. Note: The program originally served 16-17 year olds though later transitioning to 18-21 year-olds during the same evaluation.
- Ensure support from and participation of law enforcement: Originally, the MDP in Durham County did not require law enforcement officers to refer each eligible person to the program, instead leaving it up to their discretion. During this time, the majority of eligible participants were not referred to the program. Since the evaluation, Durham County has made it so officers must refer every eligible person to the MDP, largely due to the success of the program in reducing unnecessary arrests. Replications of the MDP should ensure that law enforcement agencies are fully aware of the benefits of the program and ask that they require their officers to refer each eligible person to the program.
- Offer individualized support services: Many diversion programs require their participants to complete a long and exhaustive list of programming, leading some participants to fatigue and discouragement. The MDP tackles this issue by limiting the number of required programming sessions and instead prioritizing resources that fill each participant’s individual needs. By identifying underlying issues and participant needs during the intake interview, the MDP coordinator is able to refer participants only to services that would be of genuine interest to them, keeping participants engaged and reducing burdensome activities.
- Enroll participants pre-arrest to avoid criminal records all together: Participants in the MDP are enrolled before formal arrest, keeping them out of the criminal justice system entirely after successful program completion. This timing of the program, which is largely unique to the MDP, is crucial for participants to avoid the many consequences of having an arrest record.
- Consider less restrictive eligibility requirements: Stakeholders noted that the MDP’s eligibility requirements were too restrictive, which may have limited the program’s potential impact. Importantly, though, the eligibility requirements were set according to what the law enforcement officers had approved of – and law enforcement support is critical to the success of the program.