Diversions

officer.”

The program’s objective is to divert low-level offenders from the criminal justice system and into appropriate communitybased behavior health treatment, as well as reduce the number of individuals referred to local emergency departments.

Richardson said shortly after the launch of the program this summer that the department had discussed implementation of the coresponse model years ago after hearing about its success among other law enforcement agencies, including the Framingham Police Department, which was the first department in the state to adopt the model in 2003.

With police reform becoming a hot-button issue nationwide — particularly after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a

Minneapolis Police officer in 2020 — Richardson said the program became the obvious choice.

The clinicians undergo the same background investigation as police officers. They are also required to have a master’s degree in a field such as social work, psychology or counseling, and must have at least two years of crisisresponse work.

According to the numbers recently released by the Advocates agency, Lowell Police officers referred a total of 58 cases to the co-response clinicians from July to September. During that time, three people suffering from mental illness were diverted from arrest, which translates to a cost savings of $7,560 for the criminal justice system, at $2,520 per arrest diversion.

The figures show that from July to September, 16 people in Lowell were diverted from what Advocates described as “unnecessary hospital

admissions” due to the presence of the clinician. This translates to an estimated savings of $64,000, at $4,000 per emergency department diversion.

“It has become very apparent that our officers recognize how vital of a tool these clinicians are for us in our daily interactions with our citizens, especially with those in crisis,” Richardson said about the findings.

Currently the Police Department has one full-time clinician, Mackenzie Dezieck, though it is funded for two. According to Richardson, police are actively seeking a second full-time clinician to fill that role. In the meantime, the department is using two temporary clinicians to cover the vacant position.

Lowell’s Public Safety Research and Planning Director Maryann Manzi said in August that the program was made possible in Lowell by a $676,656 grant from the Department

of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program.

In August, Richardson stressed there will be no concern about keeping the program intact moving forward, referencing the savings from jail and emergency room diversions.

Cuccaro said at that time that diversion has provided the 15 police departments involved in the program statewide with cost savings of $17.1 million in emergency department diversions and $7 million in arrest diversions.

According to Richardson, the goal is to build off the current model and possibly expand it within the department.

“We hope to be able to do this through grants or other funding sources such as within our own budget,” he said.

Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis