Articles of Interest

Reducing the harm of fentanyl

NPR Tested Podcast,  

Extremely potent substances like fentanyl and xylazine have flooded the illegal drug market, causing a major increase in overdose ER visits and deaths. Harm reduction policies could help reverse that trend.

https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s661/audio/2022/02/tested021022podast.mp3

This District Attorney is Fighting Crime - and Angering the Police

"Accumulating research in well-designed studies supports the idea, counterintuitive though it may seem, that prosecuting fewer people can actually reduce crime." 

By Emily Bazelon Feb 2, 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/opinion/crime-new-york-district-attorney.html

RELATED STUDIES:

Michael Mueller-Smith, Kevin T. Schnepel, Diversion in the Criminal Justice System, The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 88, Issue 2, March 2021, Pages 883–936, https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdaa030
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mgms/wp-content/uploads/sites/283/2019/01/Diversion.pdf

Augustine, E., Lacoe, J., Raphael, S. and Skog, A. (2022), The Impact of Felony Diversion in San Francisco. J. Pol. Anal. Manage.. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22371
https://www.capolicylab.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/The-Impact-of-Felony-Diversion-in-San-Francisco.pdf

To reduce drug crimes, send people to treatment instead of making arrests

By helping people get treatment and begin to rebuild their lives, deflection is a benefit to the individual, his or her family members and employer, and the community as a whole.

By Joel K. Johnson and Jac A. Charlier  Dec 9, 2021

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/12/9/22826384/drug-crimes-arrests-substance-abuse-treatment-tasc-joel-johnson-jac-charlier-op-ed

The Judge Who Keeps People Out of Jail

In northern Mexico, a district court judge has a radical approach to addressing addiction.

By Ted Alcorn Nov. 30, 2021

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/11/30/new-mexico-drug-court/?tid=usw_hrw_signin_magnet&