Smart Justice: A Rural Success Story

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

Upwards of 85 percent of defendants coming into the criminal justice system are mentally ill, or suffer from addiction to alcohol and/or other drugs. Many lack access to treatment and other services -- which greatly enhances their likelihood of re-offending. Starting in 2014, Potter County marshaled multiple resources for a concerted effort to establish alternative programs geared toward reducing recidivism and providing offenders with some of the tools and services they will need to allow for a smooth transition back into society. Elements are as follows: • A Specialty Court System introduced incrementally – DUI Treatment Court and Drug Treatment Court currently operating with documented success; long-range plans for a Mental Health Court and Veterans Court under review. • A Pre-Trial Diversion Program to reduce the court’s caseload and provide drug/alcohol, mental health treatment and other specialized services to qualifying criminal offenders • Establishment of a prototype Women’s Residential Rehabilitation Center. • An innovative Concerned Law Enforcement Against Narcotics (CLEAN) program enlisting police officers and other public agencies to implement “Smart Justice” on the street. Early results are encouraging. In fact, other county-based criminal justice system administrators are looking at the Potter County initiative as a model for rural counties.