The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s office has decided to start a program that sends some nonviolent offenders to a diversion program before charges are filed.
“We’ve decided to do it,” Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Juelie Dalzell said. “It’s a matter of getting all law enforcement on board.”
Clallam County already has started a precharge diversion program for some nonviolent offenders through Friendship Diversion Services, and economic conditions and a backlog in district court have led Jefferson County in the same direction.
Rather than piling more misdemeanor cases on an already-clogged court system, prosecuting attorneys in both counties and a growing number throughout the state have decided to send some cases to diversion before a charge is even filed.
‘Rather prosecute’
“I’d rather prosecute, but we don’t have the resources,” Dalzell said. “Our resources are too few and far between.
“Driving with a license suspended takes up so many resources of district court.”
If an eligible offender decides to enter pretrial diversion, her or she pays Friendship $225 and possibly more for a three-month program that — depending on the crime — may include restitution, community service, anger management, theft awareness and drug or alcohol classes.
Reduction in court
“There has definitely been a reduction in what we’re seeing in court,” said Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly, whose office started pre-charge diversion last October.
“It looks very promising. Obviously, we’re going to monitor it to make sure it’s holding people accountable.”
A client who opts out of diversion or fails to meet the requirements is sent straight to court.
“We basically have told officers that we would like them to send cases to us for us to look at and determine if an individual is one who should go to diversion or not,” Kelly explained.
Olympia-based Friendship Diversion Services keeps track of its clients in Clallam County, Port Angeles and Sequim, which helps prosecutors ensure that people aren’t falling through the cracks.
“There is a mechanism in place to catch people who shouldn’t be going in,” Kelly said.
Friendship has offices in Port Angeles and Port Townsend. Other offices are in Shelton, Port Orchard, Yakima and Spokane.
Ronnie Wuest, branch manager for Friendship Diversion Services in Clallam and Jefferson counties, said pre-charge diversion is offered only to people who meet the prosecutor’s criteria.
Friendship has taken post-charge referrals on the Peninsula for several years.
“That program is longer,” Wuest said.
“It takes a minimum of one year to complete.”
Pre-charge cases
In pre-charge cases, Clallam County has referred 138 to Friendship since the program began last Oct. 1.
“It hasn’t been going on so long, but at present I think it’s promising,” Kelly said.
The city of Port Angeles has referred 171 clients to Friendship since the pre-charge program began last February, Wuest said.
Sequim just started its pre-charge diversion program and has referred nine so far, Wuest said.
Friendship was formed in the late 1960s by a prosecutor in Thurston County and volunteers there.
From May to the end of last year, the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office referred 923 pre-charge cases to Friendship diversion.
Prosecutors there are no longer referring repeat driving-with-a-suspended-license violators to pre-charge diversion because so few enroll, deterred by the high cost of a payment program, The Olympian reported this month.
Snohomish County has been using an in-house diversion program for 15 to 20 years, Kelly said.
“With the legislative mandates for some form of diversion, I suspect that other jurisdictions are probably looking at this,” Kelly said.
One advantage of sending low-risk accused offenders to diversion is that they pay their own costs rather than the taxpayers fitting the bill for attorneys to process a case, Kelly said.
Beyond the $225 fee, Friendship clients also must pay for workshops or other services they are required to attend, Wuest said.
Friendship helps some of its clients learn job-seeking skills to use after they complete diversion.
“We do active job searches with them,” Wuest said. “We use WorkSource a lot.”
Wuest said Friendship is an effective tool that relieves crowded court systems and holds its clients accountable.
Dalzell said pre-charge diversion works better for some than others.
“It’s just a way to save money,” she said. “I don’t think it’s the best way to handle a case.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
