Jail-divert effort proves its worth
The Lowell Police Department’s Jail Diversion Program — bolstered by on-site response clinicians — has lived up to its advance billing.
That’s according to figures released by the Jail Diversion Program of the Advocates agency, the human-services organization that helped establish this innovative concept to Lowell. It stated the program diverted 19 individuals from arrest or emergency department visits from July to September.
Those 19 diversions netted an estimated cost savings of $71,560 for the criminal justice and health care systems.
“The numbers show how quickly and effectively our clinicians have made this program not only successful but most importantly safe,” said Police Superintendent Kelly Richardson.
The Jail Diversion Program in Lowell involved hiring master’s-level clinicians with expertise in mental health needs who assist police officers. Co-response clinicians can provide immediate de-escalation, risk assessment, psychiatric evaluations and referrals for levels of care.
We initially expressed our skepticism of this conflictresolution approach to crime prevention when it was first proposed for Lowell.
That’s because in the realworld conditions that most police face, oftentimes split-second action takes precedence over conversation.
That, however, doesn’t preclude cooperation with mental health providers.
Locally, that had already occurred with the creation of a regional alliance of municipal police departments that work with the mental health community to provide help for people in need of services.
The Front Line Initiative, which includes the police departments of Tyngsboro, Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford and Dracut, interacts with various community partners to provide behavioral health and substance use services.
According to its website, it employs a three-tiered approach: prevention, crisis response and recovery. Programming in these key areas provide access to clinical staff, peer support and educational opportunities to all members of the communities they serve, regardless of circumstances.
The Jail Diversion Program aims to funnel low-level offenders out of the criminal justice system and into appropriate communitybased behavior health treatment, as well as reduce the number of emergency department referrals.
According to the numbers recently released by the Advocates agency, Lowell Police referred 58 cases to the coresponse clinicians from
July to September. During that time, three people suffering from mental illness avoided 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.
The Police Department currently employs one fulltime clinician, Mackenzie Dezieck, though it is funded for two. According to Richardson, while seeking a second full-time clinician, the department uses two temporary clinicians to cover the vacant position.
The program’s funding came through a $676,656 grant from the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program.
According to Richardson, the goal is to build off the current model and possibly expand it within the department.
We’ve been persuaded by the diversion model’s proven track record and encourage other police departments to give this program serious consideration.