Offering treatment to drug users instead of arresting them reduces crime and addiction – new research into police diversion program shows

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Josephine Korchmaros, University of Arizona

(THE CONVERSATION) When police get suspected drug abusers treatment rather than arresting them, those people are less likely to abuse drugs or commit drug-related crimes in the future, new, limited research finds. This kind of police intervention can help reduce opioid abuse.

The U.S. has been in the throes of rampant opioid abuse since the late 1990s. Communities around the country have experienced increases in opioid-related deaths and crimes as a result.

One study shows opioid-related deaths more than quadrupled from 9,489 in 2001 to 42,245 in 2016. Another study indicates that people addicted to opioids are more likely than people who don’t use opioids to have run-ins with police. The rate of opioid-related crimes in the U.S. has increased substantially, from 32 per 100,000 people in 2005 to 78 per 100,000 people in 2018.

Historically, for public safety, police have...