A majority of Michigan sheriffs, police chiefs and county prosecutors support programs that allow certain offenders to participate in alternative paths to standard criminal prosecution, according to a new University of Michigan study.

The broad support affirms the use of pretrial diversion programs, which allow certain offenders to keep a criminal conviction off their public record and, instead, include fines/costs, probation and community service.

The programs currently operate in 90% of Michigan counties and commonly target individuals with mental health problems and substance abuse issues, veterans, and lower-level, nonviolent cases such as theft and fraud.

Most law enforcement leaders say pretrial diversion programs are helpful on various fronts: well-being of defendants with mental health or drug dependency issues, recidivism rates, public safety in the community, and the workloads of officers or prosecutors.

The findings come from the Michigan Public Policy Survey conducted this past spring by U-M’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy.

A majority of respondents across all types of leadership support the use of pretrial diversion programs in their counties, including 50% of county prosecutors saying they strongly support their use. Meanwhile, there is relatively little opposition expressed by chiefs (6%) or prosecutors (8%), and only slightly more among sheriffs (15%).

Among the survey’s other findings:

• 62% of police chiefs and 78% of sheriffs and prosecutors believe the programs help defendants with mental health and substance abuse issues.
• 65% of police chiefs and prosecutors and 67% of sheriffs indicate the programs help alleviate recidivism rates.
• Over half of each segment of leadership (53%-68%) say pretrial programs bolster the public safety of the community.
• Law enforcement in larger counties—those with at least 100,000 residents—are more likely to say pretrial diversion programs help public safety than those in smaller counties.

“The breadth and depth of support for pretrial diversion programs is remarkable,” said Debra Horner, the survey’s senior program manager. “While there are differences between the groups, law enforcement clearly believes that pretrial diversion programs have a productive role to play in the criminal justice system. Policymakers should ensure that more resources are available to support these programs in Michigan communities.”

Despite positive assessments of pretrial diversion programs in general, a majority of law enforcement leaders are opposed to gun diversion programs. These are programs targeted at individuals with no prior criminal history who are charged with illegal possession of a weapon. If enacted, offenders could potentially avoid incarceration by participating in the intervention program.

Statewide, 54% of county prosecutors and 52% of police chiefs and sheriffs oppose gun diversion programs in their county, including 44% of sheriffs who strongly oppose them.

The survey program has been conducted since 2009 by CLOSUP at U-M’s Ford School of Public Policy. Respondents surveyed between April-June 2024 include county, city, township and village officials from 1,304 jurisdictions across the state, as well as 54 county sheriffs, 234 chiefs of police or directors of public safety and 55 elected county prosecutors.

Written by Anna Busse, Michigan News