South Dakota county says diversion program reduces criminal re-offending

Pennington County officers are celebrating the success of a diversion program that reduces cases of prison re-offending.

The county — which has its seat of presidency in Fast Metropolis — is one in every of a number of within the state with alternate options to the court docket system for first-time or minor offenses. These diversion packages permit offenders to finish specialised necessities to have an arrest faraway from their report. The packages additionally work with offenders to stop future arrests.

Pennington County provides 4 sorts of diversion packages: a Juvenile Diversion Program for youngsters and youths from 10 to 17, a Younger Grownup Diversion Program for offenders from 18 to 25, and an grownup program for these 25 and older. The Drug Diversion Program addresses sure methamphetamine and heroin circumstances with longer-term remedy.

Mark Vargo, the state’s lawyer in Pennington County, says these packages are supposed to assist offenders who could not totally perceive the implications of an arrest.

“It’s common for there to be — for example, on a misdemeanor drug cost — penalties to scholar mortgage standing, to federal housing standing,” he stated. “It’s common to have collateral penalties, clearly, within the office, to both a drug case or probably a theft case.”

How the packages work

If an offender enters the diversion program, they meet with diversion staff and an lawyer if obligatory to debate the basis reason behind the offense and find out how to greatest assist stop recidivism, or the act of reoffending.

“We then determine what it’s that we wish to provide the participant so far as a contract,” Vargo stated. “In different phrases, what are you going to should do? Do it’s important to get your GED, do it’s important to get a job? Which we are going to assist them with, however they should take part in that course of.”

The diversion program additionally works with the Wambli Ska Society, a nonprofit group that helps Native youth within the Fast Metropolis neighborhood, so Native elders can create contracts for Native offenders. Vargo says, nevertheless, that any individuals of this system can select to work with Wambli Ska no matter race.

As soon as the necessities of the contract are full, the state’s lawyer’s workplace will dismiss the case.

Offenders then enter the “obey all legal guidelines” interval. If they don’t seem to be rearrested for one yr after finishing the contract, the workplace expunges and seals their report.

Indicators of success

Within the 5 years for the reason that program’s creation, Vargo says solely 16-17% of individuals who efficiently full their contract necessities are rearrested inside one yr after this system.

As compared, recidivism happens in 60-70% of those that select to not enter the diversion program or don’t full their necessities.

“Our statistics that we are able to generate very a lot point out that these of us at the moment are contributing members of the neighborhood,” Vargo stated. “The neighborhood is best off.”

Vargo says this program additionally fills the holes typically left by the probation system.

“Probation was a significant course of on even misdemeanor circumstances, and it had actually form of diminished by way of the quantity of effort that was required for folks,” he stated.

Some frequent misdemeanors and low-level felonies that qualify for the diversion program embody theft, vandalism, minor drug offenses and different nonviolent crimes. DUIs usually are not eligible for diversion. In sufferer circumstances, an offender can solely enter this system if the sufferer agrees to it.

Minnehaha, Lincoln, Brown, Clay and Brookings counties, amongst others, have diversion packages for youth and adults. These packages can differ relying on the realm of focus for every county.