Smart Prosecution initiative grant in action: Cook County implements an evidence-based approach to misdemeanor crimes.

• Author: Alvarez, Anita

THE COOK COUNTY States Attorney's Office has sought to develop and provide evidence-based programs as alternatives to traditional prosecution and sentencing for low-level offenders. These programs have linked defendants with needed services and generated savings for the county by reducing incarceration and decreasing future criminal activity. In 2011, it implemented the Felony Deferred Prosecution Program (FDPP), directed at non-violent felony offenders. The program has engaged well over 1,300 felony offenders since it began and has seen a consistently successful completion rate (with resultant case dismissal) in excess of 75 percent, with 98 percent of graduates having no felony arrest in the first year post-case dismissal. Closely following the success of that initiative, the Cook County office turned its attention to the unique needs of low-level misdemeanor offenders and the opportunity to provide them with needed services in lieu of prosecution.

INNOVATIVE APPROACH

The Misdemeanor Deferred Prosecution Program (MDPP) was launched in 2012 in response to challenges faced by non-violent misdemeanants who end up with convictions. The program enables the office to process non-violent misdemeanor cases more efficiently, eliminate the collateral consequences of a misdemeanor conviction for this population, provide offenders with needed services, and direct resources toward more serious crimes. Diverted offenders are referred to services and receive a case dismissal upon successful completion of the program. MDPP includes two tracks: one for defendants with behavioral health needs and another for veterans. Defendants in the behavioral health track are required to attend appointments with a licensed community health provider. Veterans are referred to a Veterans Affairs medical facility for assessment and services and are also required to attend an appointment with the John Marshall Law School Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic. The MDPP has already admitted well over 1,400 participants and has had consistently successful completion rates in excess of 90 percent, with 94 percent having no arrest or violation during initial review.

SMART PROSECUTION EXPANSION

In September 2014, the Cook County States Attorney's Office received a $450,000 grant award through the Bureau of Justice Assistance Smart Prosecution Initiative. The grant funds the expansion of the office's existing MDPP to one more courthouse and also allows the office to pilot an enhanced...