Prosecutor-Led Diversion Unveiled: Lessons and Insights from Evaluating Project Reset in Two Jurisdictions

• In Event: Innovations in Prosection: Initial Screening Decisions and Diversion Programs

Abstract

Prosecutors play a crucial role in diverting individuals charged with low-level offenses away from traditional criminal court proceedings and into alternative programs aimed at accountability and community-based services. Reset is a pretrial diversion model driven by prosecutors to respond to low-level offenses with a brief community-based intervention rather than traditional case processing. Participation in the program does not require an admission of guilt, and individuals who successfully complete it will have their cases formally dismissed or declined by the prosecutor's office.

In this presentation, we will provide an overview of our evaluation that examines prosecutorial decision-making and the adaptation and implementation of Reset into two jurisdictions. We will describe the two models, data collection approach to study implementation, and present high-level findings that utilizes program data, participant interview and survey data, and semi-structured interviews with prosecutors, program staff, and other court system actors. We will discuss the notable characteristics of each program (e.g., eligibility criteria, restitution) that impacts case flow, case outcome, and access to services and how our evaluation incorporated adaptations to the programs over time.

Authors

• Venita Embry, RTI International

• Chase Lacy Montagnet, RTI International

• Kristin Bechtel, RTI International

• Christopher Scott Inkpen, RTI International

• Alexia Walker, RTI International