TASC Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) Executive Director Jac Charlier is co-author of a new paper in a leading journal’s special issue on Emerging Best Practices in Law Enforcement
Deflection and Community Supervision Programs.
The article by Charlier and co-author Jessica Reichert, manager for the Center for Justice Research and Evaluation at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), introduced the deflection section in the recent special issue of the Journal for Advancing Justice. (ICJIA reprinted the article).
“This is the first-ever peer-reviewed journal focused on our
growing field,” Charlier said. “It reflects the mounting acceptance of and
critical need for deflection as an alternative and a ‘third way’ for law
enforcement, beyond arrest or taking no action in interactions with individuals
they encounter who may benefit from drug treatment and other supportive
services.”
Deflection is “collaborative.”
“Deflection
is a collaborative initiative that connects public safety and public health to
keep individuals out of the justice system,” said Charlier, “by facilitating
community-based pathways to treatment and related social services for
individuals with a substance use disorder, who often also have mental health issues
and/or other conditions.”
In
addition to Charlier and Reichert’s deflection discussion, the issue features how
deflection program initiatives operate and potential best practices for the
field. Emerging best practices in community supervision are also showcased.
CHJ, in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, and others, also is preparing the first-of-its-kind national survey and report on deflection, with an anticipated release this spring.
Stay tuned.
CHJ, along
with 45 other national organizations, is a co-founder of the Police,
Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC), the national voice of the field of deflection and pre-arrest diversion.