This brief document offers evidence-based methods to address common barriers to achieving officer-buy-in for deflection programs and strategies for programs led by law enforcement as well as non-law enforcement organizations.
This checklist addresses the surge in drug overdoses facing communities across the United States since 2019, noting that the increase in deflection and pre-arrest diversion programs to address substance use-related nonviolent crime primarily stems from the realization that traditional policing strategies alone are unable to solve the drug crisis and may even cause harm due to stigmatization. On the other hand, police-led programs that deflect people with substance use disorders (SUDs) from the justice system can effectively prevent criminal offending and may improve participants’ health as well as reduce social and financial costs associated with processing drug-related offenses. This document lists evidence-based strategies, with descriptions, to address common barriers to gaining officer buy-in for deflection programs and strategies that are led by law enforcement agencies, non-law enforcement organizations (collaborative partnerships), and more generally, for all types of deflection programs, no matter what type of agency leads the program.