This month, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office established a Diversion Unit dedicated to alternative outcomes for deserving defendants. The support of Atlantic County Administration has enabled ACPO to dedicate one Chief Assistant Prosecutor, two Assistant Prosecutors and one
salaried and grant-funded law intern to this task.
Used broadly, the term diversion refers to ways in which those charged with criminal offenses may avoid imprisonment and in some cases conviction by agreeing to certain terms and conditions, often involving professional treatment for underlying causes of criminality. When used appropriately and consistently, diversion can reduce crime and recidivism as well as court caseloads and backlogs.
ACPO’s Diversion Unit covers five separate programs, with more to come as personnel and funding allows. First, Pretrial Intervention (PTI) is a statutory process in which first time offenders, most often charged with third- and fourth-degree crimes, may apply to have those charges dismissed following 12-36 months of law abiding behavior. The State has the ability to apply conditions to their enrollment, including but not limited to restitution, no contact with victims, substance or mental health treatment.
Second, Recovery Court, formerly known as drug court, has provided a generation of defendants with court-assigned substance abuse treatment conditioned upon a probationary sentence that may be expunged following successful completion of a three- to five-year term.
Also, Mental Health Court was developed by ACPO more than a year before a 2024 statute brought the initiative statewide. In exchange for accepting and complying with treatment for significant diagnoses mental illnesses, ACPO may provide for downgrades and/or dismissal of eligible criminal charges.
Next, the At-Risk Initiative (ARI) is a program developed by ACPO in coordination with the courts and other county stakeholders to address lower-level offenders with patterns of repetitive criminality impacting quality-of-life through burglaries, shoplifting, criminal mischief and more. This initiative provides these defendants the opportunity for non-custodial sentences conditioned upon compliance with service provider recommendations, often involving substance abuse and/or mental health treatment.
Finally, ACPO has created Alternative Prosecution for Positive Outcomes (“APPO”), an innovative new program that aims to interrupt the cycle of violence by giving certain eligible offenders the chance at downgrades or dismissal by agreeing to a course of trauma-informed therapeutic treatment. This grant-funded program, enacted in partnership with a nationally recognized non-profit organization, Wellbeing & Equity Innovations (“WEI”), dismisses criminal charges following the completion of six-month individualized programs intended to provide a path toward healing and growth, and away from crime. With several successful adult graduations in recent months, APPO will expand to include juvenile offenders in 2025.
Creating the unit has been a priority of Atlantic County Prosecutor William E. Reynolds.
“When I was a municipal prosecutor, I saw thousands of indictable cased remanded to the local municipal courts," Reynolds said. "This failed to protect the interests of the community, and failed the defendants themselves, as they were given neither opportunities for treatment nor meaningful consequences for their conduct.
"We have stopped that practice and now, through these programs, we are giving offenders an opportunity at rehabilitation before it’s too late. Failure to have meaningful consequences led to defendants piling up dozens of cases and failed to deter this anti-social behavior. Now by enforcing the law as written by the legislature, we are able to offer opportunities for diversion and treatment in lieu of incarceration. However, if a defendant fails to comply with the diversion program requirements, the defendant often faces a state prison sentence rather than a fine in municipal court.”
ACPO continues to operate additional diversion programs, including AC LEAD, which offers dismissals and/or downgrades for drug and shoplifting charges upon completion of substance abuse treatment; Veterans Diversion Program, which connects military veterans with VA service providers; and Opt for Help & Hope, which gives nonviolent offenders in the County’s Central Municipal Court substance abuse treatment through AtlantiCare and the John Brooks Recovery Center.
Chief Assistant Prosecutor Lynn Heyer leads the Diversion Unit following a 22-year career at ACPO in many assignments, including most recently as our primary Recovery Court and Animal Cruelty prosecutor. Of her new role, CAP Heyer said, “I have found, as the proverb says, that ‘if we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep walking.’ I am proud to lead this unit and help those in need find the ‘right direction.’”
Not all defendants and offenses are eligible for these programs, and each of them provides a path towards additional prosecution and even imprisonment should defendants re-offend or fail to take advantage of the opportunities presented. For more information on these and other programs, visit
www.acpo.org.
