Nc Expands Diversion Programs For Some Low-level Offenses As Alternative To Jail

By Rachel Crumpler

For 25 years, Lars Paul worked connected nan beforehand lines of nan warfare connected narcotics pinch nan Fayetteville Police Department — making arrests for supplier possession, responding to overdoses, starring nan Narcotics Division and serving connected a SWAT squad that carried retired hundreds of narcotics searches. 

Over time, he saw arrests and jailhouse clip often amounting to an costly revolving door, and not to meaningful alteration successful nan addiction situation underlying galore low-level crimes. Again and again, he said, group would time off jailhouse only to return to nan aforesaid circumstances and soon transverse paths pinch constabulary again. It’s a communal rhythm crossed nan authorities and nationwide: About 60 percent of group successful jailhouse and situation person a constituent usage disorder, according to nan U.S. Department of Justice.

Lars Paul helped commencement North Carolina’s first Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion programme astatine nan Fayetteville Police Department. Credit: City of Fayetteville

“I sewage to spot firsthand complete each those years that, ‘Hey, we’re not winning this. We’re doing nan aforesaid point complete and complete again, and things aren’t changing. People are still dying of overdoses. People are going to jail. They’re getting arrested and going into that revolving door,’” Paul said.

His vexation pinch that shape grew, and it yet compelled him to thief spearhead a caller attack to handling low-level, nonviolent crimes typically tied to constituent usage — 1 that emphasizes diversion complete detention. Instead of automatically arresting, charging and taking personification to jail, officers could divert them to curen and societal services.

In September 2016, nan Fayetteville Police Department launched nan state’s first Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion programme — nan 4th successful nan nation. First introduced successful Seattle, LEAD connects eligible participants to lawsuit managers and adjacent support specialists who thief nexus them to needed resources, specified arsenic constituent usage treatment, lodging and transportation, pinch nan extremity of reducing engagement successful nan criminal justness system.

“For galore years, nan only instrumentality we had was to arrest,” Fayetteville Police Chief Roberto Bryan Jr. said. “Today because of LEAD, our officers person a span and a instrumentality that addresses nan guidelines causes down nan calls for services that we respond to.” 

Last year, nan programme provided adjacent outreach and support to much than 140 people.

The Fayetteville Police Department became nan 4th LEAD tract successful nan federation erstwhile nan programme launched successful 2016. Credit: Rachel Crumpler / NC Health News

“This has proven to beryllium a smart investment,” he said. “We person seen individuals who erstwhile cycled aggregate times done nan justness systems that yet get connected for housing, curen and stability.” 

Over nan past decade, nan programme has grown into a exemplary that is being replicated crossed North Carolina.

On March 24, officials pinch nan N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced a $1.5 cardinal description of LEAD programs crossed nan state. The North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition will activity pinch 7 nationalist information agencies crossed nan authorities to motorboat aliases grow their pre-arrest diversion programs:

• Fayetteville Police Department
• Albemarle Police Department
• Gaston County Police Department
• Greensboro Police Department and Community Safety Department
• New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office
• Robeson County Sheriff’s Office
• Harnett County Sheriff’s Office

Mooresville, Statesville, Waynesville and Wilmington constabulary departments besides person LEAD programs, on pinch Burke, Catawba and Watauga counties, according to nan NC Harm Reduction Coalition.

Gov. Josh Stein speaks astatine an arena astatine Fayetteville City Hall marking nan description of LEAD programs crossed nan authorities connected March 24, 2026. He said LEAD supports nationalist wellness and nationalist information by giving officers a instrumentality to reside underlying issues that often thrust criminal involvement. Credit: North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition

Gov. Josh Stein, an early protagonist who visited nan Fayetteville programme successful 2017 during his clip arsenic lawyer general, was connected tract successful Fayetteville past period to support nan dispersed of LEAD. The description follows his Feb. 5 executive order directing NC DHHS and different authorities agencies to fortify support for group pinch intelligence wellness issues who are progressive successful nan criminal justness system, aft respective high-profile cases formed increased scrutiny connected gaps successful care.

“We will not beryllium capable to apprehension ourselves retired of our addiction crisis,” Stein said. “That is simply a certainty. We person to intervene successful effective ways to trim nan problem. We request curen and betterment services truthful that group tin get well, abide by nan rule and lend to nan community.”

‘Not a jailhouse free card’

Paul — an admittedly tough, “kick-in-the-door” serviceman and Marine Corps seasoned — wasn’t an first champion of diversion. But he became convinced nan attack worked, for participants and for rule enforcement. After retiring from nan Fayetteville Police Department arsenic a skipper successful 2020, he joined nan North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition arsenic nan rule enforcement programme head moving to build momentum for these types of programs statewide.

When Paul pitches LEAD, he’s clear: It’s not a “jail free card.” Instead, he describes it arsenic a instrumentality that allows rule enforcement officers — who, by default, often extremity up responding to analyzable societal issues — to link group pinch support. 

LEAD programs trust connected 2 main referral pathways: apprehension diversion and “social contact” referrals.

Arrest diversion lets officers mention a personification to nan programme successful lieu of arresting them for low-level offenses for illustration supplier possession for individual use, posssesion of supplier paraphernalia, petty theft, trespassing and activity work. 

Social interaction referrals hap erstwhile officers aliases outreach workers brushwood personification whose unaddressed intelligence wellness aliases constituent usage issues put them astatine consequence of arrest. Instead of waiting for a crime to occur, nan officers tin connection support done LEAD. In immoderate departments’ programs, organization members tin besides propose these referrals.

In some cases, if nan personification is eligible and agrees, they person to complete an appraisal pinch a LEAD lawsuit head to place their contiguous needs and priorities. From there, lawsuit workers consistently activity to link participants to resources that align pinch their goals, including housing, behavioral wellness services, constituent usage curen and harm simplification supplies.

Greg Berry, statewide head of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Deflection programs astatine nan North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, is helping dispersed nan exemplary crossed nan state. Credit: North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition

“It’s wholly participant-centered,” said Greg Berry, statewide head of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Deflection programs astatine nan North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition. “They find nan direction, and nan lawsuit head says, ‘Okay, I’m gonna activity pinch you to effort to put a scheme together, and past I’m gonna cheque successful pinch you each week to spot really things are going.’” 

There is nary required magnitude of information successful nan program, and abstinence is not required. The programme is rooted successful harm reduction, which focuses connected gathering group wherever they are and improving stableness — not connected punishment.

Berry, who has lived his ain travel of incarceration and constituent use, has seen nan attack alteration lives. 

He recalled 1 female referred to Fayetteville’s LEAD programme aft an overdose. By then, she’d mislaid custody of her children and was surviving successful a hotel, struggling to enactment afloat. Through LEAD, she connected to housing, proscription and constituent usage treatment. Eventually, she secured unchangeable employment, imperishable lodging and custody of her children. 

“She was really benignant of astatine a fork successful nan road, wherever things were really bad and it could person sewage a batch worse,” Berry said. “But alternatively of being punished further, she was really met pinch support, compassion and relationship — and that’s what she needed.”

In different case, arsenic rule enforcement were clearing retired an encampment, officers connected a man experiencing homelessness to LEAD. The programme helped spot him successful impermanent housing, paid for proscription to a occupation question and reply astatine a section mill and covered rides to activity until he sewage his first paycheck. After astir a month, Berry said he nary longer needed immoderate assistance and has remained employed and housed since. 

What nan investigation shows

Stories for illustration those are backed up by a increasing assemblage of investigation that shows a simplification successful criminal justness engagement and an summation successful connections to curen and services among LEAD participants.

A 2022 Duke University study of 4 North Carolina LEAD programs recovered that citation and apprehension rates for group referred to LEAD decreased by one-third successful nan six months aft referral, compared pinch group pinch akin supplier charges who were eligible but not referred. The study besides recovered that, for group enrolled successful a LEAD program, nan usage and costs of crisis-related services was reduced by 50 percent successful nan six months aft their referral, while costs doubled among akin group who were referred to LEAD but chose not to enroll. 

Researchers recovered that higher engagement pinch nan programme was associated pinch amended outcomes.

“North Carolina has been connected nan forefront for implementing LEAD programs,” said Allison Gilbert, a interrogator astatine Duke University, who led nan three-year information of North Carolina’s LEAD programs.

Based connected interviews pinch participants, programme unit and rule enforcement, Gilbert said support for nan exemplary was accordant crossed groups.

“What we recovered was each of our stakeholder groups really weighted their programs and thought it brought thing really important to their communities,” she said.

With description of LEAD underway crossed nan state, Gilbert will behaviour much investigation search outcomes and question and reply much stakeholders to amended understand nan model’s effectiveness. 

A increasing model

Even pinch increasing support, there’s a agelong measurement to spell earlier LEAD and different diversion programs are nan norm crossed North Carolina.

Kelly Crosbie from NC DHHS voiced her support for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion programs during an arena astatine Fayetteville City Hall connected March 24, 2026. Credit: City of Fayetteville

“We deliberation it’s nan correct program,” said Kelly Crosbie, head of nan state’s Department of Health and Human Services Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services. “It’s an evidence-based model. We want to beryllium astatine a place, astatine nan department, wherever we opportunity location are programs for illustration this successful each region of nan state.”

Across North Carolina, rule enforcement officers are progressively responding to calls rooted successful homelessness, poverty, constituent usage and intelligence wellness challenges, she said, often pinch fewer options beyond arrest. In response, much departments are testing a assortment of approaches to reside underlying issues alternatively of simply cycling group done jailhouse — from embedding societal workers successful their departments, to sending intelligence wellness workers to respond to calls alongside officers, to implementing diversion and deflection programs specified arsenic LEAD.

“A batch of officers connected nan beforehand lines of this do get frustrated,” Paul said. “When they do slow down and really deliberation astir what a bully pre-arrest diversion programme tin do, past a batch of them are consenting to effort it.”

State leaders are encouraging that shift. At past month’s LEAD description event, Stein and authorities wellness officials urged different region officials to use opioid colony funds to motorboat aliases grow diversion programs. It’s one of a twelve approved strategies for investment. 

From summertime 2022 to summertime 2025, 16 section governments person spent more than $2.1 cardinal connected criminal justness diversion programs, according to nan state’s opioid colony dashboard. 

A representation shows nan cities and counties that person invested opioid colony dollars successful criminal justness diversion programs, from ample municipality counties specified arsenic Wake and Orange to smaller agrarian counties specified arsenic Richmond and Warren. Credit: CORE-NC Local Spending Plans Dashboard

In Greensboro, officials utilized specified costs to launch a LEAD program successful precocious 2023 — driven successful portion by nan nickname that astir two-thirds of group successful jailhouse successful Guilford County person committed low-level offenses related to drugs.

Mary Houser, Greensboro’s LEAD lawsuit coordinator, said building buy-in from officers has taken time.

“They were trained to apprehension aliases do nothing,” Houser said.

Now, she said, referrals to LEAD are picking up arsenic officers spot nan results erstwhile participants toggle shape their lives. She said nan metropolis is besides moving to make LEAD referrals a regular portion of their response. Over nan past year, Houser said nan programme has received 47 referrals.

Greensboro will usage its further authorities backing to grow nan program’s capacity by hiring a adjacent support master to activity pinch participants.

Meanwhile, nan NC Harm Reduction Coalition is helping motorboat a statewide diversion and deflection learning collaborative wherever stakeholders tin meet regularly to stock champion practices and fortify diversion efforts. 

“My dream is that 1 time programs for illustration LEAD are nary longer nan exception, but are nan standard,” Berry said. “Can we flip nan paradigm?”

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