Criminal Justice National Deflection Week: July 16-22, 2023
This week, July 16-22, is the first ever Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative National Deflection Week. Organizations around the country are rallying to help the public and policymakers understand how smart deflection practices can better our criminal justice system and protect public safety. The week also coincides with National Deflection Day, hosted on July 19 in Stamford, Connecticut by community, police and health partners, all of whom play a notable role in ensuring deflection works with and for the public and law enforcement alike.
Deflection is a form of diversion from the criminal justice system that occurs pre-arrest, often led or initiated by law enforcement. While most have heard the broad term “diversion,” this newer concept known as “deflection” aims to redirect low-level offenders away from the system and toward community-based programs that can help alleviate some of the contributors to problematic behavior. Such methods include “informal warnings; civil citations; direct referrals to diversion programs; and releasing juveniles to guardians after temporary custody with a warning and referrals to treatment services or restorative justice programs.”
Namely, programs often seen in communities include Stop, Triage, Engage, Educate and Rehabilitate Police Deflection, the Safety Net Collaborative and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion.
Deflection targets individuals involved primarily in drug-related offenses, mental health crises or those dealing with issues such as homelessness. Deflection is based on the thought that an individual is better served if provided with treatment options, rather than dealing with the negative consequences associated with arrest and incarceration. In addition, deflection helps mitigate detrimental outcomes for law-abiding members of communities who are impacted by an inefficient justice system.
The goal of this movement is to spread awareness around the nationwide policing initiatives geared toward efficient resource allocation. The justice system works best when focused on addressing violent crime, not unnecessarily fixating on individuals who would be better served by other social services or simply held accountable in other ways. For more than two decades, jurisdictions across the country have been developing new approaches to manage non-violent, low-level offenders without direct involvement with the formal criminal justice system.
Furthermore, law enforcement, including the National Sheriffs Association, supports deflection practices as a mechanism of promoting law enforcement’s mission to protect and serve. In May 2022, the White House announced a model law to expand addiction-focused deflection. You can find relevant work from the R Street Institute on deflection programs below, and please be on the lookout for content throughout the week on our social media!
- Christi Smith, “When Arrest Isn’t Best: Creating A Culture of Police-Led, Pre-Arrest Diversion”
- Logan Seacrest, “Data-Driven Deflection: A Systems Approach to Reducing Juvenile Arrests”
- Jillian Snider and Sarah Anderson, “Missouri’s pathway to safer communities doesn’t require arrests”
- Sarah Wall and Maya Szilak, “Expanded Citation Authority in Connecticut”
- Logan Seacrest, “Radio: America’s Juvenile Detention System is Collapsing;” Inside Sources with Boyd Matheson; “America’s juvenile detention facilities are collapsing”
- Maya Szilak and Marc Hyden, “Expanded Citation Authority”
- Sarah Anderson, “Radio: Criminal Justice: Juvenile Deflection Programs Are Working;” Inside Sources with Boyd Matheson
- Sarah Anderson, Lisel Petis and Jillian Snider, “Overview of Juvenile Deflection in the United States: A State-by-State Comparison”
- Logan Seacrest, WWL First News with Tommy Tucker
- Marc Hyden and Steven Greenhut, “How Juvenile Justice ‘Deflection’ Programs Reduce Crime and Save Money