Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion
(LEAD) Program

Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a community-based diversion approach with the goals of improving public safety and public order, and reducing unnecessary justice system involvement of people who participate in the program. LEAD was launched in 2011 in Seattle, Washington as a new harm-reduction oriented process for responding to low-level offenses such as drug possession, sales, and prostitution.

LEAD Focus

  • Divert individuals with an unmet behavioral health or substance abuse need to a different path than incarceration.

  • Individual Wellness

  • Community Safety

  • Reduce the cycle of non-violent low-level arrests.

How it Works

Acceptance into the LEAD program is first determined by the Officer on duty. The officer can determine that the non-violent low level offender would benefit greater from treatment than incarceration. The offender must give consent to participate in the diversion program before making the referral to the LEAD Coordinator. A LEAD Coordinator is available 24/7 by phone to review the referral and complete a brief assessment. They will then immediately coordinate treatment services for the offender and notify the officer of any non-compliance so further action may be taken if necessary. Prosecutors and police officers work closely with case managers to ensure that all contacts with LEAD participants going forward, including new criminal prosecutions for other offenses, are coordinated with the service plan for the participant to maximize the opportunity to achieve behavioral change.

Six Goals of LEAD

Reorient, Improve, Reduce, Undo, Sustain and Strengthen

  • Reorient the government’s response to safety, disorder and health-related problems.

  • Improve public safety and health through researched based, health-oriented and harm reduction interventions.

  • Reduce the number of people entering the criminal justice system for low level offenses related to drug use, mental health, sex work, and extreme poverty.

  • Undo racial disparities at the front end of the criminal justice system.

  • Sustain funding for alternative interventions by capturing and reinvesting justice systems savings.

  • Strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the community.

LEAD focuses on individual and community wellness as a way to create healing.

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