NCJ Number
81075
Date Published
1981
Length
97 pages
Annotation
This report examines eight precharge programs for drug abusing defendants in six sites. Most of the programs enjoy broad police and community support as working strategies between the police and the drug treatment community. The precharge phase covers the critical period from the drug abuser's encounter with police to the prosecutor's decision to file formal charges.
Abstract
To identify precharge referral strategies in the States, researchers contacted all State criminal justice and drug treatment planning offices and the Single State Agencies, as well as many local government and public and private sector organizations. Researchers also conducted a literature review and visted the following programs: Criminal Justice Service Center, Del.; Drug and Alcohol Deferral Service, Vanderburgh County, Ind.; Drug Diversion Authority, Genesee County, Mich.; Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime, Marin County, Calif.; '602' Youth Diversion in Marin County (Novato and San Anselmo), Calif.; Social Action Workshop, Philadelphia, Pa.; Community Arbitration Program, Baltimore County, Md. Most of these programs served polydrug abusers, and the police role and function were predominant in the diversion process. Five program elements were examined to provide a typology: point of referral, primary actors controlling the operations, locus of administrative control, programmatic configuration of the service providers, and nature of the services provided to divertees. Detailed operational descriptions of the programs and ways the programs exemplify the various typologies are presented. Findings indicate that intervention during the precharge phase was an operational response to the constraints of the local context in which the program evolved. The programs were reportedly meeting their stated goals and objectives, although little evaluative research had been performed. Most programs had a significant impact on their criminal justice systems because of the volume of cases diverted. Although most precharge programs were designed to intervene early for maximum flexibility, they made provision for at least optional access to counsel prior to the defendant's entry into diversion. In addition, most programs placed diverted drug abusers into a variety of treatment modalities. Confidentiality of drug abuse client information was a major source of operational problems. The replicability of drug abuse referral strategies is discussed and recommendations are included. Tables illustrating comparative program features, flow charts, and 49 references are appended. Endnotes to the introduction are included.