Atlanta/Xxxxxx County. Pre-Arrest Diversion Initiative Priority Participants program targets those facing any charge where the illegal activity was connected to an unmet mental health need, substance use disorder, or extreme poverty. Individuals are not eligible for pre-arrest diversion if one, or multiple, of the following exclusionary criteria are met at the time of APD encounter: • Under the age of 17 years old • Presents a substantial risk of harm to self or others • Probable cause that the individual committed a violent crime or property crime against a complainant and the complainant objects to diversion • Has any of the following pending charges: o Violent offenses: Murder, felony murder, voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping with bodily injury o Sex offenses: Rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, incest o Other offenses: Armed robbery, hijacking, home invasion • Has active exclusionary warrants (See Section VIII of PAD Operational Protocol). Mental Health Annually, nationwide more than two million people with serious mental illness are booked into jails around the country(9). Though accurate estimates are hard to obtain, the Xxxxxx County Justice Reinvestment Committee reports that at any point in time around 25% of the jail’s average daily population (ADP) has a diagnosed mental illness(10). However, in a national survey it was demonstrated that almost two-thirds of those incarcerated (64%) have a mental health issue, 17% have a serious mental illness, and 50% of prison and jail inmates in the US have been diagnosed with a behavioral disorder(11). Partially due to a lack of access to crisis intervention services and continuum of care, individuals suffering from untreated mental health and substance abuse disorders are eight times more likely to be incarcerated (12). In gathering data on Xxxxxx County’s service to offenders with mental illness, the Xxxxxx County Justice and Mental Health Task Force found that offenders with mental illness spent on average 58 days in jail awaiting trail vs 26 days for those without (12). Not only are costs higher due to extended stays, these individuals also likely utilize a disproportionate share of mental and medical health services. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) rejects the use of detention for individuals who committed an offense stemming from an underlying mental or behavioral health condition as prisons and jails do not represent optimal settings for therapeutic interventions, especially for the 4.17%...
