Oakland County plan to keep non-violent offenders out of jail for certain crimes

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Oakland County Sheriff and Prosecutor's Officer are working with mental health, substance abuse, and behavioral leaders in the county to prevent non-violent offenders from going to jail for certain crimes.

The Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities (The Alliance) announced its new partnership this week with law enforcement in the county called Let Everyone Advance With Dignity – or LEAD. 

The idea of LEAD is simple – keep people who committed certain non-violent crimes out of jail. 

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According to The Alliance, ⅔ of all people arrested have underlying mental health or substance-use disorder. This kind of program can help people turn the corner and end a cycle of crimes, according to Steve Norris from the Alliance.

"If that catalyst is that first interaction and they so choose to get that help, it avoids probably decades of pain and misery in the future," he said. 

The Alliance is partnering with the prosecutor and sheriff to get people help instead of sending them to jail if they have a low-level contact with law enforcement for low misdemeanors and non-violent offenses.

"Instead of going to a jail and creating a criminal history, we’re diverting them to vital services to help lift those people up." said Oakland County Sheriff Sgt. Chris Miller. "It might also be where an officer realizes – here’s a person that’s struggling and they’re in constant contact with the police – so that officer will now have the discretion and say ‘I think this person needs services’." 

The sheriff's office is still working now to determine who gets diverted and selected vs being booked into jail.

"We’re working on our policy and procedure in that regard," he said.

Prosecutor Karen McDonald said it simply doesn't make sense to keep sending people to jail.

"We have so many people who end up in the criminal justice system because they need mental health services. It doesn’t make sense for anybody, it doesn't make sense for the offender, for our community, for our law enforcement, or for our tax payer," McDonald said.

The sheriff’s office says they expect some of these guidelines and training protocols to be laid out before the summer and will rely on collaborations from multiple partners to make it a reality.