Pre-Arrest/Booking Strategies & Their Comeback in Urban Policing

• In Event: Reexamining the Crime and Drug Nexus

Abstract

Pre-arrest/booking strategies, defined as officer referral or diversion to social or health services as an alternative to arrest, have seen a comeback in recent years, especially for minor drug offenders and the mentally ill. Pre-arrest/booking strategies have historical roots in the policing mission, and have been viewed as a way to assure policing legitimacy among populations that have felt themselves marginalized by the police. This paper examines the use of pre-arrest/booking strategies among urban police departments, focusing on their foundation in the community policing movement, and their recent re-emergence in the form of Law Enforcement Assistance Diversion Initiatives (LEAD), “Angel” initiatives that divert addicts to services on a pre-arrest basis, and the expansion of Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs). Central questions in this paper will address: 1) the usefulness of pre-arrest/booking strategies as de-escalation methods designed to reduce tense police-citizen encounters; 2) whether police departments are willing to adopt pre-arrest/booking strategies, in what political contexts, and for what target populations; 3) the importance of other community/government actors in assuring the success of pre-arrest/booking strategies and 4) the challenges of implementing pre-arrest/booking programs in urban police departments that continue to define themselves primarily as crime-fighters versus agents of community service and outreach.

Author

• Barry Goetz, Western Michigan University