The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has just announced a new ‘adult diversion program’ in partnership with Lowes.
The program seeks to replicate the success CMPD has seen in their ‘youth diversion program’, which has admitted over 4,000 juvenile criminal offenders since 2013, with 92% of graduates having not reoffended.
Participants are diverted from the traditional criminal justice system for lower-level offenses. The purpose is to provide these young adults with opportunities for education and employment and to avoid re-offending and cycling through the criminal justice system. #clt #cltnews
— CMPD News (@CMPD) June 9, 2022
The adult diversion program is for young adults 18-24 years old who are first time offenders and have committed lower level offences. Participants cannot have prior arrests and cannot have committed a violent crime. All participants are required to complete between 25-100 hours of diversion classes within 3, 6, or 12 months of the contract date. The amount of class time will correlate with the level of offence they have committed.
You can find out more about the new program in the full press briefing here: