Police Perspectives On Police-Assisted Diversion Programs For People Who Use Drugs
Open Access
- Author:
- Morssy, Kariem
- Graduate Program:
- Criminal Justice (MA)
- Degree:
- Master of Arts
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- October 30, 2023
- Committee Members:
- Jennifer Gibbs, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies
Philip Richard Kavanaugh, Jr., Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Daniel Andrew Howard, Committee Member
Don Hummer, Committee Member - Keywords:
- People who use drugs
Harm Reduction
Police Diversion
Police Discretion
Police Decision-Making - Abstract:
- Statement of the Issue: Police departments in Pennsylvania have struggled to manage persistent overdose rates and drug problems and an increase in interactions among police and people who use drugs (PWUD) (Wang & Quandt, 2021). Officers have limited tools, training or experience in effectively managing incidents with PWUD and linking individuals with needed care. New initiatives such as police diversion pose a particularly “progressive” police-initiated/assisted response to PWUD that also takes into account broader harms related to drug use – namely harms produced through police interactions and criminal justice involvement. While police decision-making has been studied in terms of the formal decision to arrest, it has yet to be explored fully in terms of non-formal decision-making (as posed by diversion decision-making). Research Methods: This study sampled 23 officers among 10 agencies within 6 counties in South-Eastern/South-Central Pennsylvania. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview that looked to assess the process of diversion decision-making, officer self-efficacy in managing drug problems, police orientations towards diversion practices and finally, impact of diversion on officer decision-making. Interviews were coded with principles of reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) (Braun & Clarke, 2012). N-Vivo qualitative software was utilized to conduct the coding phase of data analysis. Initial themes were developed according to researcher orientation and refined through the process of inter-rater reliability. Results: Findings are reported according to the research questions driving inquiry and the researcher’s perspectives and orientation. Respondents indicated a broad variety of diversion practices – officers trying to manage diversion programs often did so under restrictive diversion practices with limited means of overcoming barrier to diversion. Officers for the most part, felt a sense of futility in managing drug problems with existing drug enforcement strategies that were admitted by respondents to be ineffective at dealing with the problems of drug crime and addiction. Overall, many officers felt that PWUD may need an element of coercion to be ‘compelled’ to seek treatment. Officers had emphasized the individual choice on the part of participants to engage in in diversion, often expressing strong skepticism as diversion implies little to no formal criminal justice action and is often accompanied by unclear administrative directives. Conclusion: This study provides insight to police agencies on the implications of police culture, socialization, and the local influences on individual officers’ discretion (Murphy & Russell, 2020. Understanding decision-making allows agencies to develop diversion intiatives that can have a positive impact on police operations, officers and ultimately the community.