Over the past decade, deflection and pre-arrest diversion programs have gained prominence in the United States, largely driven by the surge in fatal and near-fatal opioid overdoses. As a result of this crisis, and the devastating effect it has had on individuals, families, neighborhoods, and (in some cases) entire communities, many police leaders realized that enforcement alone was not slowing the epidemic and were thus compelled to devise alternative strategies.

Further, a growing number of leaders recognize addiction as a disease that often can be better addressed through treatment and prevention, highlighting the need for strategies beyond arrest and incarceration. In 2013, to better serve individuals who have substance use disorders (SUDs), police departments and sheriff’s offices began moving from an enforcement approach to a model that allows police and other first responders to connect individuals to community-based treatment and services to address their SUDs.¹ This movement to a public health approach led to the emergence of deflection and pre-arrest diversion programs.²

According to a survey of deflection programs conducted in 2020 by TASC’s Center for Health and Justice (CHJ), almost 75 percent of these programs are led by police and sheriff’s agencies.³ Officers, who are often the first point of contact for at-risk individuals, have the discretion to either arrest or refer them, through the deflection program, to community-based treatment and services, thus keeping these individuals out of the justice system and avoiding the collateral consequences that accompany justice involvement. Whether a deflection program is led by a police or non-police organization, these initiatives are collaborative in nature, and buy-in from police officers is critical to program implementation and sustainability. Officer buy-in increases the number of referrals to the program, enhances community-police relationships, creates or enhances cross-sector collaboration, and provides opportunities to increase access and equity in the provision of community-based behavioral health to underserved communities. However, obtaining officer support can be a challenge for new deflection programs.

Research on police attitudes about implementing deflection programs indicate the following beliefs or concerns by some officers can hinder buy-in:⁴

• Addiction is a moral failing that should be punished, or deflection means individuals who use drugs will not be held accountable.
• Referrals to treatment, which may not be considered “real policing,” won’t be beneficial to officers’ careers.
• Referring someone to treatment will take time away from responding to other calls for service.

In addition, there is a significant misunderstanding or lack of knowledge among officers about the treatment and service options (or lack thereof) available to individuals with SUDs and common barriers to treatment (e.g., lack of insurance, transportation, or childcare; fear of stigma).

However, many officers are moving past these outdated ways of thinking and embracing the value of public health–informed deflection strategies that can lead to improved individual and community-level outcomes.

Enhancing Officer Support

To overcome barriers to officer buy-in and facilitate the successful implementation of deflection programs, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), in partnership with CHJ and funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, developed the Checklist for Obtaining Officer Support for Deflection or Pre-Arrest Diversion Programs, a comprehensive list of evidence-based strategies for enhancing officer support for deflection programs.

Programs that are led by police and non-police organizations share many of the same obstacles to securing officer support, but they each also encounter their own unique challenges. This checklist offers evidence-based strategies to enhance officer buy-in for both police-led and non-police–led deflection programs, resulting in better outcomes for individuals, agencies, and communities.

Strategies to Obtain Officer Support for Police-Led Programs

Police leaders can support deflection programs by clarifying the goals, purpose, and potential benefits of the program for officers.

• Encourage command staff participation in trainings and deflection efforts to convey the level of priority placed on the program.
• Use referrals as a performance metric in the same manner as traffic stops and community engagement.
• Provide incentives and recognition for making deflection referrals.
• Develop clear policies and procedures to make the program easy to understand and implement.
• Provide clear instructions about the process for referral to the program.
• Develop clear eligibility requirements for those who can be referred to the program.

Strategies to Obtain Officer Support for Non-Police–Led Programs

Engaging officers in programs led by other organizations requires concerted effort by both the lead program organization and decision makers in the police agency.

• Bring police agency leaders into the planning process from the beginning to help shape the program, build relationships and trust among partners, and create a sense of ownership.
• Hire or assign a program manager who is trusted by police to advocate for program goals, help train officers, and help build relationships between police and other stakeholders.
• Include patrol officers and first-line supervisors in program planning to contribute their knowledge and perspectives.

Strategies to Obtain Officer Support for All Deflection Programs

Regardless of whether the program is led by a police agency or a non-police organization, certain steps should be taken to engage officers in the program’s success.

• Make the process for referring through the program easier and less time-consuming than arrest and booking.
• Offer training on the following topics to provide insight about individuals with SUDs and other behavioral health disorders and reduce stigma:
  • • the science of addiction
    • adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and the impact of early trauma
    • the role of relapse in recovery
    • historical context
• Educate agency personnel about treatment:
  • • Invite a program partner who provides treatment or case management services to talk about the SUD treatment and service capacity in the community and barriers to treatment.
    • Include people who have lived experience with SUDs in the training to expose officers to individuals in long-term recovery to demonstrate that treatment works.
    • Inform officers about the post-referral process for program participants.
• Create a feedback loop:
  • • Provide information to officers about the outcomes of individuals they refer (if possible) or aggregate outcome data at regular intervals (monthly or quarterly).
    • Share evaluation and research results with agency officials and officers.
    • Ask for officers’ feedback and suggestions and incorporate their recommendations so they have a stake in the program.

Police officers, through their everyday activities, come into contact with individuals who have or are at-risk of SUDs and who have overdosed. As society navigates the complex landscape of SUDs, deflection and pre-arrest diversion programs represent a transformative approach that prioritizes compassion, collaboration, and community well-being. By implementing the strategies outlined in the IACP’s Checklist for Obtaining Officer Support for Deflection or Pre-Arrest Diversion Programs, police departments can increase the number of officer referrals and foster a more effective response to substance abuse, ultimately building safer and healthier communities.d

Notes:

¹Daniela Barberi and Faye S. Taxman, “Diversion and Alternatives to Arrest: A Qualitative Understanding of Police and Substance Users’ Perspective,” Journal of Drug Issues 49, no. 4 (October 2019): 703–717; TASC’s Center for Health and Justice and NORC at the University of Chicago, Report of the National Survey to Assess First Responder Deflection Programs in Response to the Opioid Crisis Final Report (Chicago, IL: TASC’s Center for Health and Justice, January 2021).

²For more information on deflection and pre-arrest diversion, see Karen Maline and Callie Frye, “Creating Pathways to Treatment,” IACP@Work, Police Chief 91, no. 1 (January 2024): 79–80.

³Jessica Reichert, Fighting the Opioid Crisis through Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Study of a Police Program Model in Illinois (Chicago, IL: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Center for Justice Research and Evaluation, 2017); Barberi and Taxman, “Diversion and Alternatives to Arrest”; Saba Rouhani et al., “Police Attitudes towards Pre-Booking Diversion in Baltimore, Maryland,” International Journal of Drug Policy 65 (March 2019): 78–85; Scott Hoke, Kerrie Baker, and Kristen Wenrich, “An Assessment of Officer Attitudes toward the Training and Use of a Pre-Booking Diversionary Program,” Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 115 (August 2020): 108036.

⁴NIDA, “Drug Misuse and Addiction,” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, January 5, 2024).

Please cite as:

Callie Frye, Nohemi Soza-Acevedo, and Karen Maline, “Obtaining Officer and Agency Support,” IACP@Work, Police Chief 91, no. 8 (August 2024): 72–73.