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- Diversion Programs, G.O. No. 1.2.10 Page 1 ALBANY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT 165 HENRY JOHNSON BOULEVARD ALBANY, NEW YORK 12210 DIVERSION PROGRAMS GENERAL ORDER NO: 1.2.10 Issue Date: February 17, 2017 Effective Date: July 3, 2015 Revision Date: July 3, 2015 NYSLEAP: N/A Volume 1: Organizational Structure Chapter 2: Law Enforcement Role and Authority Distribution: All Personnel Page: 1 of 4 Issuing Authority: Chief Eric Hawkins PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to recognize the department’s role in criminal justice and social service diversion programs. POLICY: It is the policy of the Albany Police Department to maintain and actively participate in various criminal justice and social service diversion programs which are available as resources to the department. I. CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL SERVICE DIVERSION PROGRAMS A. The Albany Police Department recognizes that there are criminal justice and social service diversion programs available which are sometimes better suited to handle distinct cases, such as the following: 1. Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems: a. Programs available include, but are not limited to the following: i. Equinox Chemical Dependency Counseling Center; ii. Narcotics Anonymous; and iii. The Addictions Care Center of Albany (ACCA). b. The Albany Police Department, along with the Addiction’s Care Center of Albany (ACCA), jointly trained personnel in a program known as SBIRT, or Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral Treatment. i. SBRIT is an evidence-based approach used in identifying patients who use alcohol and other drugs at risky levels, with the goal of reducing and preventing future health related consequences, disease, accidents, and injuries. 2. Mental Illness: a. Programs available include, but are not limited to the following: Eric Hawkins Chief of Police 1789 ---PAGE BREAK--- - Diversion Programs, G.O. No. 1.2.10 Page 2 i. Albany County CART Mobile; ii. CDPC Crisis Unit; iii. Equinox Mental Health Services; iv. “Now is the Time” Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education); v. The Albany Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). 3. Law Enforcement Diversion Initiatives: 1. The department is in the beginning phases of implementing the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program. 2. The LEAD program is a law enforcement diversion program that aims at police officers utilizing their discretion to direct low level offenders away from the criminal justice system and into services. a. The initiative will allow for an officer to refer the individual to a case manager who would then facilitate accessing a comprehensive network of services. b. This will allow for an officer to divert an individual whose real issue is drug dependency, mental illness, or homelessness to the services that they so desperately need and that the criminal justice system cannot provide. 4. At Risk Adults and their Families: a. The Albany Police Department is committed to developing, implementing, maintaining, and cooperatively working with all programs designed to assist, through intervention, at risk adults and their families. b. The department’s Enhanced Supervision Unit (ESU), which operates under the Neighborhood Engagement Unit (NEU), focuses on the intervention of at risk adults and their families within the City of Albany. Enhanced Supervision accomplishes this through: i. Identification of at risk adults; ii. Service coordination; iii. Investigation; iv. Mentorship; v. Interdiction; and vi. Education. 5. School Liaison Program: a. The department’s School Resource Officers (SROs), which operate under NEU, provide a visible police presence throughout the school day; inside and around assigned schools within the City of Albany School District. SROs are responsible for the following: ---PAGE BREAK--- - Diversion Programs, G.O. No. 1.2.10 Page 3 i. Research and develop curricula and programs to present to students though out the City of Albany School District; and ii. Participate in the G.R.E.A.T. Program. iii. Deliver prevention programs to students; iv. Monitor and provide security during periods of school dismissal; v. Review department reports to provide school officials with information that could prove helpful to maintaining a safe environment within the schools; vi. Maintain a schedule that sets time aside to meet with students, teachers, school administrators, and parents to discuss issues of concern; vii. Work with patrol officers and detectives to prevent and investigate crimes that involve school age children by acting as a liaison between the Albany Police Department and the City of Albany School District. 6. Juvenile Delinquency: a. The Albany Police Department is committed to developing, implementing, maintaining, and cooperatively working with all programs designed to prevent and control juvenile delinquency. b. The department’s TRaC program (To Reach and Connect) is under the umbrella of the Neighborhood Engagement Unit and the Prevention Services Unit. i. The TRaC program focuses on early intervention of at risk youth and their families within the City of Albany with a goal of decreasing crime in both short and long term time frames. ii. TRaC meets these objectives through the identification of at risk youth, service coordination, investigation, mentorship, interdiction, and education. c. A Person in Need of Supervision (PINS) is a youth under the age of eighteen (18) who is showing a pattern of habitual disobedience, running away, curfew violations, substance abuse, violent behavior, or school truancy problems. i. PINS diversion services attempt to resolve the conflicts that brought a youth to the attention of the Probation Department by offering supervision, guidance, and referrals through community resources. d. The position of Youth Aide within the Albany Police Department involves responsibility for a full range of client/case management activities. These activities include, but are not limited to the following: i. Client intake and assessment; ii. Development of an individual service strategy plan for nine ---PAGE BREAK--- - Diversion Programs, G.O. No. 1.2.10 Page 4 through eighteen (18) year old at risk youth; iii. Identify and develop community resources and links for case referral; iv. Develop positive relations with parents, employers, school staff, and community leaders; and v. Assist with support services for families at risk. e. Additional programs and services include, but are not limited to the following: i. Equinox Outreach Center; ii. Equinox Youth Housing; iii. Youth Build: iv. Trinity Youth Services; v. LaSalle Evening Reporting Center; vi. Mission Accomplished Transition Services;; vii. Police Athletic League (PAL); viii. Albany Police Explorers; ix. Albany Police Summer Cadet Program; x. Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT Program); and xi. Youth and Police Initiative (YPI). 7. Youth Court a. Refer to GO 3.8.05 – Children and Family Services Unit: Juvenile Operations, section I C for procedures regarding Youth Court. II. ROLE A. The Albany Police Department shall utilize and cooperate, when appropriate, with the juvenile justice and social service diversion programs. 1. In making the decision as to whether to use diversion programs, personnel shall rely on their training, experience, and current directives. III. RESOURCES A. The Albany Police Department maintains an updated resource directory of available programs and services. 1. This directory can be accessed on the Albany Police Department Homepage by clicking on “Resource link”, and then by clicking on “APD Resource List”.