Prosecutor outlines pre-file diversion pilot to route eligible felony arrestees to community services
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Summary
Spokane-area prosecutors proposed a voluntary pre-file diversion program for eligible nonviolent felony arrestees that would offer a six-month community-services engagement and, if conditions are met, the prosecutor’s office will not file charges. The program would start small and rely on court and jail coordination.
A prosecutor’s office representative described a new pre-file diversion program the council is developing to offer certain people arrested for nonviolent felony offenses an opportunity to receive community services instead of immediate charging.
Speaker 7, who presented the plan to the SRLJC, said the program would focus on people appearing on the first-appearance docket. “These are gonna be for folks on the first appearance docket, and they're gonna be cases where the prosecutor's office is deciding not to file charges at all,” Speaker 7 said. The program would be voluntary and require participants to engage with community services for six months. “If they can do that for 6 months and remain crime free, the state's promise is that we will not file their criminal charge,” Speaker 7 added.
Organizers described several operational steps needed to make the program work. Staff would identify eligible individuals in the morning, send a prioritized list to court administration and jail releasing, and ask the court to see those people early in the docket so they could be released and meet community-service staff in the jail lobby. Community-services presence was planned for at least two days a week initially to provide warm handoffs and referrals for treatment or other supports.
The prosecutor’s office estimated potential eligibility at “around a dozen a week,” but emphasized the number is a rough preliminary estimate. Speaker 7 said the program will start in superior court (felony level) using statutory definitions to screen out violent offenses, and that the rollout would be gradual to allow staff and community partners to build capacity.
Defense-side participants urged safeguards to ensure consent is informed. Speaker 10 recommended earlier contact with detained people and review of program documents before court: “If they're not competent, stable, I don't know how they can voluntarily waive or enter into a program,” Speaker 10 said, urging interviews in the jail before the first-appearance hearing.
Supporters on the council described the proposal as a promising early-intervention approach that could divert individuals from the criminal justice system and reduce jail pressure if it yields better engagement with services. Speaker 7 said the team will track participation and outcomes to evaluate success and pursue additional funding if data support expansion.
What happens next: presenters said they are finalizing paperwork and coordination with community services; an initial soft launch was discussed for late January or early February, with an intent to begin full operations in early February if logistics permit. Council members offered operational and legal input and asked to see outcome data as the program is piloted.