Evaluate the Efficacy of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programs
Date: 1/1/2018 - 6/30/2020
Principal Researchers: Lonnie Schaible, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, CU Denver School of Public Affairs
Others Involved: Lori Hughes, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, CU Denver School of Public Affairs; Stacey Bosick, Associate Professor of Sociology, CU Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Lauren McDonald, Professional Research Assistant in Sociology, University of Northern Colorado
Student Researchers: Nazia Hasan, Stephanie Ames, Ilana Winchester and Jeanette Norman
Location: Alamosa, Denver, Longmont and Pueblo
Funding: $609,953
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion is a pre-trial diversion program that was originally developed in Seattle and seeks to enlist the assistance of police officers in identifying and diverting chronic low-level offenders in need of wrap-around social services to help them overcome issues leading to their involvement in crime and substance abuse.
In 2017, the Colorado legislature passed legislation to fund Colorado’s Officer of Behavioral Health to pilot and evaluate the LEAD programs in four communities. The four communities selected were: Alamosa, Denver, Longmont and Pueblo. Our team at CU Denver, an inter-disciplinary partnership between Sociology and Criminal Justice, was selected to evaluate the impact of the program across the four sites.
Of particular interest are the:
(1.) How officers exercise discretion in their decision to divert offenders, (2.) Whether participation in LEAD improves clients life satisfaction and functioning, and (3.) What if any benefit there is in LEAD vs. traditional processing through the criminal justice system.
The research team has established baseline data collection protocols and is conducting preliminary analysis, and will begin conducting interviews with officers, clients and stakeholders this Spring.