TY - JOUR
T1 - Pre-arrest diversion to addiction treatment by law enforcement
T2 - protocol for the community-level policing initiative to reduce addiction-related harm, including crime
AU - Zgierska, Aleksandra E.
AU - White, Veronica M.
AU - Balles, Joseph
AU - Nelson, Cory
AU - Freedman, Jason
AU - Nguyen, Thao H.
AU - Johnson, Sarah C.
N1 - Funding Information:
From this momentum, building upon existing research evidence on crime and other harm reduction with addiction treatment, and upon the PAARI and LEAD programs’ early successes, the City of Madison Police Department joined forces with public health, clinical and academic partners, and developed an innovative ‘community policing’ plan, named the Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative (MARI). MARI emphasized a collaborative, police-community effort that creates linkages to addiction treatment from police officers as a way for reducing crime and overdoses, and improving lives of individuals with addiction and the local community. In 2016, the MARI proposal was submitted for funding consideration to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Strategies for Policing Innovation (SPI) grant program, which has prioritized development and evaluation of innovative, evidence-based approaches to address ‘chronic’ crime (Bureau of Justice Assistance, ). After a competitive peer-review process, a three-year grant was awarded to fund the implementation and evaluation of MARI. This article describes the SPI-approved MARI protocol. The MARI implementation and evaluation findings will be published in subsequent manuscripts.
Funding Information:
This project was supported by Grant No. 2016-WY-BX-0004 awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The BJA is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The funding agency had no involvement in the conceptualization of the project design; it approved the project protocol prior to the award initiation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Background: Despite evidence that treatment reduces addiction-related harms, including crime and overdose, only a minority of addiction-affected individuals receive it. Linking individuals who committed an addiction-related crime to addiction treatment could improve outcomes. Methods: The aim of this city-wide, pre-arrest diversion program, Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative (MARI) is to reduce crime and improve health (i.e., reduce the overdose deaths) among adults who committed a minor, non-violent, drug use-related offense by offering them a referral to treatment in lieu of arrest and prosecution of criminal charges. This manuscript outlines the protocol and methods for the MARI program development and implementation. MARI requires its participants to engage in the recommended treatment, without reoffending, during the six-month program, after which the initial criminal charges are “voided” by the law enforcement agency. The project, implemented in a mid-size U.S. city, has involved numerous partners, including law enforcement, criminal justice, public health, and academia. It includes training of the police officer workforce and collaboration with clinical partners for treatment need assessment, treatment placement, and peer support. Program evaluation includes formative, process, outcome (participant-level) and exploratory impact (community-level) assessments. For outcome evaluation, we will compare crime (primary outcome), overdose-related offenses, and incarceration-related data 12 months before and 12 months after the index crime between participants who completed (Group 1), started but not completed (Group 2), and were offered but did not start (Group 3) the program, and adults who would have been eligible should MARI existed (Historical Comparison, Group 4). Clinical characteristics will be compared at baseline between Groups 1–2, and pre-post the program within Group 1. Participant baseline data will be assessed as potential covariates. Surveys of police officers and program completers, and community-level indicators of crime and overdose pre- versus post-program will provide additional data on the program impact. Discussion: By offering addiction treatment in lieu of arrest and prosecution of criminal charges, this pre-arrest diversion program has the potential to disrupt the cycle of crime, reduce the likelihood of future offenses, and promote public health and safety.
AB - Background: Despite evidence that treatment reduces addiction-related harms, including crime and overdose, only a minority of addiction-affected individuals receive it. Linking individuals who committed an addiction-related crime to addiction treatment could improve outcomes. Methods: The aim of this city-wide, pre-arrest diversion program, Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative (MARI) is to reduce crime and improve health (i.e., reduce the overdose deaths) among adults who committed a minor, non-violent, drug use-related offense by offering them a referral to treatment in lieu of arrest and prosecution of criminal charges. This manuscript outlines the protocol and methods for the MARI program development and implementation. MARI requires its participants to engage in the recommended treatment, without reoffending, during the six-month program, after which the initial criminal charges are “voided” by the law enforcement agency. The project, implemented in a mid-size U.S. city, has involved numerous partners, including law enforcement, criminal justice, public health, and academia. It includes training of the police officer workforce and collaboration with clinical partners for treatment need assessment, treatment placement, and peer support. Program evaluation includes formative, process, outcome (participant-level) and exploratory impact (community-level) assessments. For outcome evaluation, we will compare crime (primary outcome), overdose-related offenses, and incarceration-related data 12 months before and 12 months after the index crime between participants who completed (Group 1), started but not completed (Group 2), and were offered but did not start (Group 3) the program, and adults who would have been eligible should MARI existed (Historical Comparison, Group 4). Clinical characteristics will be compared at baseline between Groups 1–2, and pre-post the program within Group 1. Participant baseline data will be assessed as potential covariates. Surveys of police officers and program completers, and community-level indicators of crime and overdose pre- versus post-program will provide additional data on the program impact. Discussion: By offering addiction treatment in lieu of arrest and prosecution of criminal charges, this pre-arrest diversion program has the potential to disrupt the cycle of crime, reduce the likelihood of future offenses, and promote public health and safety.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102370523&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85102370523&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s40352-021-00134-w
DO - 10.1186/s40352-021-00134-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 33689048
AN - SCOPUS:85102370523
SN - 2194-7899
VL - 9
JO - Health and Justice
JF - Health and Justice
IS - 1
M1 - 9
ER -