1. Diversion from Arrest at Initial Law Enforcement Contact

2. Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights
Background
In late Fall of 2014, the Mayor’s Office applied for and received a technical assistance grant from the National League of Cities. The purpose of the grant was to improve public safety and youth outcomes by addressing one or more of the following goals:
To build a robust continuum of community-based alternatives to arrest and prosecution;
To reduce racial and ethnic disparities; and
To improve opportunities for youth returning to communities from confinement and supervision
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

3. A Data-Driven Proposal
As juvenile arrests fell, the number of new prosecutions remained flat, so a higher percentage of arrested youth were being prosecuted
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

4. A Data-Driven Proposal
This was not because we were seeing fewer minor offenses. In 2014, more than 40% of all juvenile arrests were for minor misdemeanors or non-violent felonies
Most Serious Offense at Arrest #
% of total
Simple battery
124
16%
Simple burglary (uninhabited structure) 58 8%
Illegal possession of stolen things (misdemeanor or amount unspecified) 47 6%
Theft (any) 45
Possession of marijuana (1st offense) 37 5%
Subtotal
330
42%
ALL ARRESTS
759
100%
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

5. Research Supports Diversion at the Earliest Point Possible
When youth become too deeply involved in the juvenile justice system for minor behavior problems, they become more likely to engage in continued delinquency in the future.1
The further a young person penetrates the juvenile justice system, the more likely he/she is to be arrested as an adult – even after accounting for socio-economic and developmental factors and self-reported delinquency. 2
“Diversion” is a general term meaning diversion from formal system processing, and can occur at any point prior to adjudication. Currently, the Prosecutor’s Diversion Program is the only diversion option that exists in New Orleans.
1 Wilson, H. and Hoge, W. (2012). Diverting Our Attention to What Works: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Youth Diversion Program. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 00, 1-19.
2 Gatti, U., Tremblay, R., and Vitaro, F. (2009). Iatrogenic effect of juvenile justice. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 50,
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

6. Police Diversion is a National Best Practice
The International Association of Chiefs of Police recommends that law enforcement agencies support and promote alternatives to arrest and prosecution and work to minimize system involvement for youth3
IACP offers a model policy for enforcement alternatives4 , including:
Release without further action
Informal counsel by the officer to inform the youth as to the consequences of his action
Informal referrals to community services
Referrals to parents or responsible adult
“Arrest of all or even a large percentage of juvenile offenders is not in the best interests of the community, the criminal justice system or the juveniles who are potentially subject to the system’s sanctions.” – Int’l Ass’n of Chiefs of Police
3 International Association of Chiefs of Police, Law Enforcement’s Leadership Role in Juvenile Justice Reform: Actionable Recommendations for Practice & Policy (July 2014), available online at:
4 IACP National Law Enforcement Policy Center , Juvenile Enforcement and Custody Concepts and Issues Paper. (May 1994) On file with author.
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

7. Examples from Other Jurisdictions
Minnesota – Minneapolis PD allows officers to issue a citation to youth stopped for specified offenses classified as “petty misdemeanors”. Youth are never brought to the detention center, and these citations are not routinely investigated.5
Florida – officers are authorized to issue “civil citations” to youth arrested for up to three times on a misdemeanor as an alternative to arrest and prosecution.6  
Philadelphia – officers are called to respond to a delinquent act at a school, they can refer the youth to a Diversion Intake Center instead of making an arrest. As of Feb 2015, Philadelphia PD reported a 57% reduction in school arrests since the initiation of the program.7
Calcasieu Parish – operates a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC). The MARC reduces the amount of time officers spend handling juvenile arrests, while connecting youth to services, and attempting to divert youth away from formal court processing as often as possible.8
5 MPD Policy & Procedure Manual, found online at:
6 Information about the civil citation program and arrest data can be found on the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice website: See and
7 Testimony to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, found online at:
8 From the Calcasieu Parish Juvenile Justice Services website, found at:
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

8. Proposal for New Orleans
We propose the development of a continuum of responses for officers who encounter young people who appear to be engaged in delinquent behavior. This continuum might include the following options, listed by increasing severity of response: 
Warn and release only, with no further enforcement;
Release on the scene, with referral to a short-term pre-arrest program;
Release on the scene, with a summons to appear in court;
Release to a juvenile assessment center, with a summons to appear in court (long-term goal);
Arrest and transport to juvenile detention, only if the youth scores for detention on the Risk Assessment Instrument.
Officers should be guided in using the most appropriate option based on the severity of the offense, and the youth’s history of prior encounters with law enforcement.
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

9. Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights
Potential Impact
In 2015, almost 400 youth were arrested for offenses that could be safely and effectively handled by diversion at the point of law enforcement contact.
Most Serious Offense at Arrest #
% of total
Simple assault or battery
145
16%
Disturbing the peace, criminal trespass, criminal mischief 95
11%
Misdemeanor property offenses 53 6%
Illegal possession of stolen things 37 4%
Misdemeanor possession of marijuana 35
Subtotal
365
41%
ALL ARRESTS
893
100%
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

10. Questions? Rachel Gassert, Policy Director rgassert@laccr.org
(504)
Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights