History
The Pre-Arrest Diversion Initiative is a strategy designed by people directly impacted by policing and incarceration, who built a broad grassroots coalition to champion criminal justice reform and propose more effective approaches to public safety. The two-year pilot was developed in collaboration with criminal justice agencies, local governments, neighborhood and faith leaders, and social services providers.
Timeline
2013/2014
- Solutions Not Punishments (SNaPCO) leads grassroots organizing campaign to defeat banishment ordinance targeting sex workers in Midtown Atlanta
2015
- Community leaders, legal system partners, and elected officials travel to Seattle to learn about Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)
- Atlanta City Council and Fulton County Board of Commissioners unanimously vote to establish PAD Design Team
2016
- PAD Design Team conducts community outreach and analysis to define pilot area location, eligibility, and protocol
- Seattle business leaders visit Atlanta to share their experience with LEAD
2017
- PAD launches with a mission to coordinate the initiative and provide care navigation for participants
- PAD begins accepting referrals October 2017 in four police beats
2018
- PAD expands to 8-beat pilot area, shifts diversion schedule to include daytime hours, and begins working with APD PAD liaison officer
2019
- PAD expands to 14-beat pilot area to accommodate increased law enforcement presence downtown leading up to Super Bowl LIII