the volume of PMIs involved in the criminal justice sys-
tem and the associated problems (e.g., behavioral prob-
lems while incarcerated, access to medication), formal
diversion programs have been developed to help reduce
the number and frequency with which PMIs pass
through the criminal justice system. Typically, diversion
programs are premised on the notion that PMIs who
access and engage in community treatment will be less
likely to have police contact and less likely to be charged
with crimes, thereby reducing the repeated cycling.
Timing of Diversion
There are two main forms of diversion programs: pre-
booking (or prearrest) and postbooking (including
mental health courts). Although diversion can occur at
any point along the criminal justice continuum,
including probation and parole, one goal of diversion
is to identify potential participants as early as possi-
ble. The timing of diversion, however, can depend on
awareness of the mental illness and of the diversion
program itself. For example, an inmate may not be
recognized as having a mental illness (or as being a
suitable candidate for the program) until after several
months of pretrial detainment. Additionally, in larger
urban communities, many criminal justice personnel
with whom the PMI interacts may not even know a
diversion program exists in their locale.
The timing of the referral and whether the program
is pre- or postbooking also influence the diversion
process itself. Specifically, prebooking programs
divert the PMI from being arrested and charged and,
thus, from criminal justice involvement entirely. That
is, for PMIs involved in prebooking diversion pro-
grams, law enforcement has used their discretion to
not arrest them. Currently, there are an estimated 120
prebooking diversion programs. A growing form of
prebooking diversion programs are crisis intervention
teams (CITs). The CIT model is primarily concerned
with de-escalating crisis situations between police
officers and PMIs in the field, but it also involves
making informed decisions about when to arrest PMIs
rather than taking them to treatment settings.
Postbooking diversion occurs after the person has
been charged. Two critical points for this type of diver-
sion to occur are when making decisions concerning
pretrial release and deferring prosecution. Usually, the
decision to release a defendant occurs soon after the
arrest. If the arraignment judge is aware that the person
has been accepted into a diversion program that is par-
tially responsible for community supervision, the
judge may be more inclined to release the person from
jail. Similarly, when the prosecutor is deciding
whether to go forward with a case, knowing that the
defendant is involved in a diversion program, and is
thus likely to be getting treatment and supervision, can
affect that decision. To date, there are approximately
150 postbooking U.S. diversion programs that are not
mental health courts.
Mental health courts, while a form of postbooking
diversion, are distinct. Mental health courts are crimi-
nal courts with typically one judge presiding. Clients
are supervised by the judge (in periodic status review
hearings) and in the community by mental health
and/or criminal justice professionals. Often, commu-
nities that have instituted successful drug courts will
form mental health courts as well. The courts are part
of a growing field of specialty courts, which include
domestic violence, DUI, and even teen smoking ces-
sation courts. The first two mental health courts were
formed in 1997. In 2006, there were more than 130
U.S. mental health courts.
Features of Diversion Programs
Diversion programs are most often created by individ-
ual communities and thus meet the needs of that spe-
cific jurisdiction. As such, diversion programs can
appear quite distinct from one another, especially
when examined at a micro level. However, at a macro
level, there are several shared and defining aspects of
diversion programs.
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Diversion programs have the shared goal of reduc-
ing the frequency with which PMIs become justice
involved. They also aspire to linking their clients with
community treatment services and, quite often, with
other services such as vocational training, housing,
and accessing government funds. Generally, diversion
personnel are concerned with what is in the best inter-
ests of their clients, and many programs are paternal-
istic in their nature.
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Therapeutic jurisprudence is defined as an outlook
that views the law as a system for social change (either
in a therapeutic or nontherapeutic direction). Diversion
programs strive to improve the lives of their partici-
pants. The programs, particularly mental health courts,
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