Pima County strives to reduce incarceration and recidivism while protecting public safety. A major challenge to advance this goal is overcriminalization. Therefore, a new proponent of the justice system offers alternatives to jail and prison, known as deflection.

What is Deflection?

Deflection is a redirection tactic to steer those accused or convicted of crime away from jail or prison, and instead, toward services and treatment. By connecting individuals to resources, Deflection allows those who are struggling with substance use and mental health issues to enter rehabilitation, not incarceration. This early intervention can prevent individuals from ever being arrested and processed into the criminal justice system.

You might have heard of Diversion, in which those facing criminal charges could also receive treatment, instead of incarceration. However, Deflection is different than Diversion. Diversion is not an alternative to the justice system; it is a part of justice system. For instance, an individual charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) could enter in DWI court, which specializes in providing supervision and treatment. Whereas deflection can avoid the justice system process entirely by receiving connections to community-based resources with no formal court involvement.

Does Deflection Work?

Deflection offers a simple, yet promising alternative that can spare individuals from entering the justice system unnecessarily - saving time, costs, and lives. By implementing pre-arrest deflection programs, these intervention and prevention approaches aim to lessen the burden on the jail, courts, law enforcement, and first responders.

In 2022, the White House Office of National Control Policy (ONDCP) released the** Model Law Enforcement and Other First Responders Deflection Act**. This act serves as a model for law enforcement and first responders to establish and deploy deflection programs at the state level. The White House ONDCP
explains how "deflection programs are shown to reduce stigma, provide better services for people with substance use disorder, mental health disorder, or co-occurring disorders, and save lives."

Statistics in Pima County

According to the Safety and Justice Challenge, the Tucson Police Department is responsible for nearly half of total bookings in the Pima County Jail. Throughout 2018 to 2020, Pima County law enforcement deflected 6,545 unique individuals over a total of 11,018 deflections. Deflection alongisde other strategies, the jail population has decreased by 4%, as of October 2023.

Sources

Examining the Impacts of Arrest Deflection Strategies on Jail Reduction Efforts - Pima County AZ
White House Announces State Model Law to Expand Programs that Deflect People with Addiction to Care
Safety + Justice Challenge - Pima County