Beyond the Badge: A Taxonomy of 911 Diversion Programs in US Cities

• In Event: Non-Criminal Justice Responses to Delinquency Panel 1

Abstract

This paper is a systematic and comprehensive inventory of 911 Diversion programs and alternatives to police response across the United States. Many police departments and municipal governments began to consider alternatives to police response, or alternative 911 responders, following calls for “defunding the police” that became increasingly popular in 2020. By January 1st, 2025, 52 of the largest 100 US cities had at least one 911 diversion program, (N=78 total programs). These programs can be divided into 5 distinct categories: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, Crisis Intervention Team, Crisis Call Diversion, Co-Response Teams, and Community Response Teams. The level of police involvement varies across these categories. Additionally, there is significant heterogeneity within each type of program, including response initiator and initiation process, eligible call types, and responder type. Thus, this paper explores the heterogeneity in the scope and aims of these programs, across and within categories, as well as an analysis of the characteristics of cities that are more likely to have a diversion program.

Author

• Madisen Placzkowski, University of Maryland