The City of Harvey, Illinois Police Department requested technical assistance to develop and implement a pre-arrest diversion/deflection program. BJA NTTAC referred this request to TASC, Inc.
The City of Harvey Police Department (HPD) is looking to develop and implement a pre-arrest diversion/deflection program with an emphasis on sex and drug trafficking. The City of Harvey has a population of 24,908 (US Census 2017) and suffers from high levels of unemployment (22.0%), poverty (33.2%), housing instability, and crime. Through intelligence-led policing efforts, the Department has gained great access to data regarding the City of Harvey and now has the ability to explore policies and practices related to implementing pre-arrest diversion. The Department has the capacity to collect data and use data analysis techniques for benchmarking and evaluation purposes. After close analysis of the available data, the City understands that it is currently experiencing a major epidemic of individuals that are either suffering from mental illnesses; victims of sex and drug trafficking; abusing drugs (specifically opioids); or in some instances suffering from all of the above.
Rather than execute a law enforcement strategy in these high trafficked areas, the Department has decided to employ a strategy for this target population that lies in pre-arrest diversion and deflection. The goal is to intervene in the lives of these individuals suffering from substance abuse disorders, mental illness, and poverty. In this role, HPD would serve the role of a referral source to community-based centers that can provide treatment for before a crisis occurs.
The Department is in the process of establishing relationships and working collaboratively with community leaders and local organizations, as well as behavioral and mental health professionals, to make this program of behavior redirection a reality. HPD’s main objective is to address the crucial needs of the community by specifically guiding these individuals into social service programs, rather than into the justice system.
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The City of Harvey recently applied for and was subsequently awarded a participant scholarship to attend the 2019 Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC) Training Conference. PTACC is an alliance of practitioners in law enforcement, behavioral health, community, advocacy, research, and public policy, whose mission is to strategically widen community behavioral health and social service options available through law enforcement diversion. The purpose of the Collaborative is to provide vision, leadership, advocacy, and education to facilitate the practice of pre-arrest diversion across the United States. PTACC is the national voice of the pre-arrest diversion and deflection field.
During the 2019 PTACC Training Conference, the City of Harvey Police Department worked closely with representatives from TASC and IACP to draft a Strategic Action Plan to guide the implementation work of this new initiative. It is the hope of the City of Harvey Police Department that our willingness to apply to be a part of the PTACC Training Conference will show our unwavering commitment and dedication to assisting individuals working in the commercial sex industry that are struggling with substance abuse, specifically opioids, and mental illness in the City of Harvey, will be evident to the BJA NTTAC team. Thus, granting us this request for much needed TTA as we continue with our implementation efforts.