Spectacular success of King County rehab experiment

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/29541-jail-doesnt-work-pilot-program-shows-rehab-better-at-preventing-repeat-offenses

Low-level drug and prostitution offenders are significantly less likely to reoffend if they are sent to rehabilitation rather than to jail, according to the results of a pilot program in Seattle and King County in Washington. A University of Washington study of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) found that 203 participants in the program were 60 percent less likely to be arrested within six months of entry, compared to 115 people in a control group. Throughout the duration of the study (October 2009 to July 2014), they were 58 percent less likely to get arrested. The likelihood of receiving a felony charge also dropped 52 percent, compared to an 18 percent drop among people in the control group.

Within the past few years, community groups, law enforcement bodies, and local leaders in Seattle and King County have adopted and developed LEAD as an alternative to sending low-level drug and prostitution offenders through the criminal justice system. Instead of booking, charging, and requiring court appearances, LEAD stakeholders connect offenders to basic necessities, such as housing, food, and clothing, and place them in drug or alcohol treatment programs.

LEAD participants are typically referred to the program by officers who screened them upon arrest. In some cases, officers referred “social contacts,” or people who previously engaged in criminal activity. After an intake evaluation determines how often participants use a substance, the state of their physical and mental health, and external factors that contribute to their behavior, case managers link them up with various community services, including counseling, housing, and job placement programs.