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IRPS committee reviews draft resolution urging police diversion for people experiencing homelessness; defers 30 days for police and outreach input
Summary
A draft resolution asking the DeKalb County Police Department to adopt a diversion policy for unhoused individuals was discussed and deferred for 30 days while police and homeless-outreach staff develop an implementation plan and resource guide.
Commissioner Robert Patrick presented a draft resolution to the IRPS committee on May 20 calling on the DeKalb County Police Department to develop a diversion policy for encounters with people experiencing homelessness that prioritizes alternatives to arrest and incarceration when appropriate.
Attorney Phillips summarized the intent: to ensure officers exercise discretion and are equipped with options and resource referrals when interacting with people whose circumstances do not warrant criminal charges. The draft calls for creating a resource guide of agencies and nonprofit organizations that provide housing and wraparound services and urges agencies that already offer such services to identify themselves for inclusion.
Commissioners raised operational questions: what the policy would require officers to do in the field, where a person would be directed, whether the resource guide would be finalized before adoption of a resolution, and who would be responsible for creating and maintaining that guide. DeKalb staff told the committee that a resource guide is being assembled but had not been circulated and that the homeless outreach and coordinated-entry teams already maintain resource lists and navigators.
Attorney Phillips and other staff cautioned that police policy writing involves accreditation requirements and prosecutorial discretion considerations; the committee agreed to seek police feedback before final adoption. The committee voted to defer the resolution for 30 days so police leadership, homeless outreach staff and other departments could prepare implementation details and a resource guide and return with feedback.
Why it matters: The resolution would instruct the county's police leadership to formalize alternatives to arrest for certain encounters with people experiencing homelessness and to coordinate with service providers, potentially changing how officers respond to these incidents.
What's next: Staff indicated they will bring the draft resolution to DeKalb Police leadership and the homeless outreach team for input, and return to IRPS within 30 days with a revised draft and implementation recommendations.
