Cleveland police policy on Cuyahoga County Diversion Center is ‘incorrect and inappropriate,’ Marsy’s Law adv - cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio— Cleveland police’s policy that requires officers to first get permission from a victim of a low-level, non-violent offense before they take someone with mental illness to get treatment instead of jail is “incorrect and inappropriate,” a statewide advocacy group said.

The policy that directs officers on how and when to use the Cuyahoga County Diversion Center cited Marsy’s Law as the reason officers must first seek permission.

Marsy’s Law for Ohio, an advocacy group for the 2017 law that gives victims certain rights during the criminal justice process, said in a statement that Cleveland’s interpretation of the law is flawed.

“This policy is an incorrect and inappropriate interpretation of Marsy’s Law,” Jessica Ryan, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement. “Crime victims have a constitutional right to notification and to have a voice in the criminal justice process. There is nothing in Marsy’s Law that grants to a victim the power to approve or deny decisions regarding custody of the accused.”

Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer has reached out to city and police officials for comment.

Cuyahoga County’s $9.2 million Diversion Center opened in May and was designed for officers to take people with mental illness and addiction to get treatment instead of jail for low-level, non-violent crimes. Only people who voluntarily want to go to the center, and have no history of violence or sex offenses, are accepted.

Officials and advocates for the Diversion Center criticized Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams’ policy, enacted on Oct. 15, because they said it places unnecessary barriers for officers to get people to the center and could put victims of low-level offenses in a position to decide the fate of someone’s treatment.

Diversion center officials the same day changed its policy of only accepting those accused of minor crimes to allow for officers or EMS personnel to take people to the center without a crime occurring.

Still, advocates said, police often interact with people who need treatment on a call about a low-level offense and that Cleveland’s policy could result in fewer people taken to the center.

Of the 89 people brought to the center as of Sept. 14, Cleveland police brought in 10.

Advocates and diversion center officials criticized the policy before it was implemented because of City Prosecutor Aqueelah Jordan’s assertion that officers first call her office to get permission before anyone is taken to the diversion center. That requirement strayed from a streamlined blueprint for officers recommended by Cuyahoga County’s Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, which oversees the center, officials said.

Jordan’s requirement ultimately made it into the police department’s official policy. Cleveland mayoral candidates Justin Bibb and Kevin Kelley both said during an Oct. 7 forum with Greater Cleveland Congregations that they would rescind Jordan’s requirement.

source: https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2021/10/cleveland-police-policy-on-cuyahoga-county-diversion-center-is-incorrect-and-inappropriate-marsys-law-advocacy-group-says.html

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