Panel at the COSSUP Forum 2023
Title: When to Deflect and When to Enforce: Perspectives from the Field of Policing
Description: Law enforcement has daily encounters with vulnerable individuals, some suffering from the effects of substance use and mental health conditions, homelessness, or poverty. These effects can include disruptive behavior, overdoses, medical conditions, or criminal behavior stemming from these conditions. When law enforcement officers encounter people who use drugs and those with substance use disorders, who may or may not have committed an offense, but need treatment and services, options are often limited to arrest or transport to an emergency department, or taking no action. Deflection provides officers with a third option: providing linkages to community-based treatment and services while improving public health and public safety.
However, when to deflect and when to arrest is not always clear, and as the field of deflection grows and the number of police departments doing deflection also increases, departments need guidance on when traditional law enforcement is appropriate and when deflection may be indicated. In this panel, session attendees will hear directly from police in the field who have had experience in both traditional enforcement and deflection. The panelists will give a brief overview of how each of their deflection programs work to prevent illicit substance use and misuse and decrease overdoses in their community. Panelists will also discuss how their programs have balanced deflection and enforcement to preserve community trust and foster support for their programs.
Learning objectives
1. Describe why balancing deflection and enforcement is important to deflection program sustainability and credibility.
2. List situations where deflection would be a more effective response to address substance use and misuse.
3. Explain how deflection is a tool for law enforcement to use to reduce crime and prevent overdoses.
Panelists:
Vicky Butler, Program Director, Plymouth County Outreach
Captain Stacie Shaner, Tucson (AZ) Police Department
Detective Lieutenant Mike Skowyra, Kingston (MA) Police Department
Moderator- Jac Charlier, TASC's Center for Health and Justice
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