Deferring felony prosecution: a process evaluation of an innovative Cook County State ’s Attorney’s Office program

Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice,Volume 3, Issue 4, Page 261-273, December 2017. Purpose The Cook County State Attorneys ’ Deferred Prosecution Program (DPP) is a pre-trial diversionary program that accepts first-time, non-violent defendants charged with a felony crime. The purpose of this paper is to document the development, implementation, and program patterns of the DPP to better understand the program’s scope and reach in diverting defendants from traditional criminal prosecution. Design/methodology/approach The approach to evaluating Cook County’s DPP is primarily qualitative. Through interviews with program administrators and current and former participants, the authors document the process of cre ating and implementing such DPP that aims to avoid a felony conviction altogether. The authors provide program participant patterns to shed light on the program’s scope and reach in diverting defendants from traditional felony prosecution. Findings Using data from staff, administrators, and prog ram participants, the authors found that the DPP was developed and implemented through supportive leadership who instilled a culture of collaboration and buy-in. Expanding the program could include increasing the capacity of DPP to include additional participants or having a DPP incorporated into ea ch branch court, instead of the centralized system under which it currently operates. Increasing the capacity and scope of the program could both further ...
Source: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice - Category: Criminology Source Type: research
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