Pre-arrest and pre-booking diversion or redirection adopts the concept that mental health responses are most appropriate outside the justice system. Individuals can be redirected to wrap-around services, including stabilization units, inpatient care facilities, or temporary housing units. Communities should work to make sure law enforcement has the discretion to use pre-arrest diversion rather than make an arrest. Law enforcement can be incentivized to use these resources through speedy drop-off processes and security procedures.
Learn More About Crisis Stabilization Units
Crisis stabilization units are facilities that seek to stabilize a person and enable community reintegration while offering supportive outpatient services. Stabilization units are less restrictive than a hospital and can serve as great resource for law enforcement to divert people in crisis who exhibit signs of a serious behavioral health issue.
- More Than Emergency Response: The Tucson Model's Preventative Approach to Crisis and Public Safety
- *Arnold Ventures, A Community Guide for Development of a Crisis Diversion Facility
- Journal of Mental Health & Clinical Psychology, Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Centers: A New Normal
Learn More About Pre-Arrest and Pre-Booking Diversion
- Council of State Governments, Resources for Law Enforcement*
- International Association of Chiefs of Police, Building Healthier Communities through Pre-Arrest Diversion
- Treatment Advocacy Center, Emptying the ‘New Asylums’ - A Beds Capacity Model to Reduce Mental Illness Behind Bars
- Bureau of Justice Assistance Police-Mental Health Collaboration Toolkit, PMHC Toolkit
- Police, Treatment, and Community (PTACC), Collaborative Recommended Core Measures for Pre-arrest Diversion
- *CSG Justice Center, PMHC Self-Assessment Tool
- SAFE Project, Pre-Arrest Diversion
* Recently added