Deflection

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It should not be news to anyone that Tucson has joined the long list of cities who are trying to work through an opioid crisis. So how do we fix this problem? Should we stop arresting anyone we find with narcotics, effectively decriminalizing illegal drugs? Do we provide narcotics (Methadone, Vivitrol, and Suboxone) at no cost to the addict? Do we provide clean syringes and safe spaces for the addicts to use their drugs? Do we arrest everyone for possession of narcotics?

The Tucson Police Department has adopted the Deflection Program. This allows officers to take the narcotics and paraphernalia from an addict and not make an arrest. Instead, the addict will be offered services to help with their addiction. Details of this program are found HERE.

The Deflection website is full of information about the need for this program and it displays some of the program’s early successes. Add to that, Assistant Chief Kevin Hall from the Tucson Police Department claims “This is the only way we’re going to fix this. There are people at all socioeconomic levels and all ages that have this problem.”

Laura Conover, the Pima County Attorney who replaced Barbara LaWall in January 2021 seems to agree with the program. She stated on her website “The County Attorney’s Office historically devotes too many resources to aggressive law enforcement for low-level crimes and has pursued felony prosecution of non-violent offenders at historic and alarming rates. We are less safe because of this agenda. Ensuring our safety requires sound policy and sound leadership.” https://lauraconover.com/

After reviewing the above listed articles and Laura Conover’s Facts, it is tough to make an argument against this program.

Here’s a fact that didn’t make it onto Laura Conover’s list. More than half of patrol generated felony narcotics arrests will never be prosecuted by the Pima County Attorneys Office. Maybe, just maybe, Tucson’s drug problem could be much bigger than the people in charge are willing to admit. We also seem to be ignoring the documented relationship between property crimes and illegal drug use. 

Let’s point out some more pesky facts that will not go away. If we could take an addict who is facing felony charges, deflect them into treatment where they will surely kick their addiction and everyone will live happily ever after, we doubt we would be talking about this program. Unfortunately, addiction is a very powerful thing. It controls the lives of its victims and feeding the addiction becomes more important than relationships with friends and family. We must also consider the physical pain and anguish an addict endures while they detox. To think they will go through that because it is the right thing to do is wishful thinking at best. There has to be something that compels an addict to stop using and as unpleasant as it may seem to some, a jail cell may be the best way to break the cycle. 

The deflection website listed above states that Tucson loses over 200 people per year due to accidental drug overdoses. They also say that number is on the rise. In this recent article, the cost of jailing inmates at the Pima County Jail are discussed. It states that between 7/1/2018 and 6/28/2019, taxpayers saved approximately $178,000.00 by not jailing these offenders. If we are considering the value of a life and freeing that life from addiction, do dollars saved really matter? 

Here’s a hypothetical situation, let’s say an officer contacts an addict and determines there is probable cause to make an arrest for possession of a narcotic drug, we’ll say heroin. Let’s say the officer deflects the addict into treatment. Tucson Police Department’s program does not require the addict to actually attempt detoxing, it just needs to be offered by the officer and initially agreed to by the addict. The deflected addict can un-deflect themselves at any time without the threat of arrest. What we are doing is sending this addict out for another round of Russian Roulette.  And since heroin isn't free, the addict's next score will be funded by an unsuspecting property crime victim whose property will be sold for pennies on the dollar to pay for heroin or fentanyl. That would be one the non-violent property crimes that according to Laura Conover, are too aggressively pursued. 

Let’s also discuss some legalities here. As AZ POST certified officers, are we allowed to ignore felonies? Possession of a useable amount of heroin is a class 4 felony. The straw, foil, syringe or spoon is unlawful possession of narcotic paraphernalia, and it is a class 6 felony. We are taking evidence of a felony and ignoring the felony. The evidence of that felony is taken by an officer and placed into evidence where it will be destroyed. 

Now let’s look at two hypothetical addicts who are contacted while in possession of heroin. One is contacted by an officer who wants to see this person get clean through deflection. The other is contacted by an officer who also wants to see the person get clean but decides to make an arrest. The second is transported to the Pima County Jail where they are booked and charged with a felony. Have we provided equal protection under the law as required by the US Constitution? 

Despite the “Facts” from the Deflection website and Laura Conover’s website, we at Tucson’s Corrupt Leadership.com remain skeptical. We know that certain facts can be cherry picked to make any program appear successful. We decided to ask three very simple questions in a recent public records request: 

  1. How many people died of an accidental drug overdose in 2019?

  2. Of those people, how many had been deflected?

  3. Of those who were deflected, how many times were they deflected?

The answer was surprising to us. "We do not record data on overdose deaths in a way that would allow us to speak to request #1."  (A copy of their actual e-mail response is posted below) Wait a second, let’s go back a page here! Their own website says we lose over 200 people per year to accidental drug overdoses- and that number is rising. If we are going to have an honest discussion about how to fix Tucson’s opioid crisis, we will need all the facts. When we are denied access to the facts, we have to wonder what other facts are being kept from the people. 

Let's see what former Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus had to say about this crisis facing his city.  Here's a quote from the former chief (April 28, 2021).  "As of April 26, there’ve been 70 overdose deaths so far this year in Tucson (other victims survived their overdoses as a result of immediate medical treatment, often due to Narcan administered by police officers in the field).  Yet, there is little attention paid to this cause of death despite its impact on persons of every age and socio-economic group, from every neighborhood, and representing all demographic groups."  Hold on!  As the text (above) and the e-mail (below) clearly shows, the Tucson Polce Department does not "record data on overdose deaths"!  How the hell does Chief Magnus know there were 70 overdose deaths at any point in time and how does the Deflection Website know we lose over 200 people a year to accidental drug overdose?

Ask any patrol officer working the streets, are overdose calls for service going up or are they going down? Ask that officer if, when they show up for the property crime call for service that has been holding for 12, 24, or 36 hours, do they get the feeling that we are winning out there? 

While Deflection may be relatively new to Tucson, this has been tried in other cities. In Tucson PD's Deflection website above, under Research and Development, the City of Seattle/ 2016 was listed. While they may believe this program was successful, we have provided a link to a YouTube special called “Seattle is Dying.” We ask that you view it in its entirety. Why? Because this is a sneak peek to where Tucson is headed if we continue with Deflection.  As you will see, Deflection is an unmitigated disaster in Seattle. At the 14:30 mark, you will meet Travis Berge. Travis is a methamphetamine addict who admits to stealing to feed his addiction. He claims, “I have conquered the criminal justice system.” More recently, Travis murdered his girlfriend and then killed himself. See this article for details.

Seattle is Dying is a sobering look at addiction and the way we try control it. Frankly, it’s a depressing way to spend an hour but toward the end of the video, there is some good news out of Providence, Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Department of Corrections seem to have found an answer to this question: “How do we protect our society while at the same time showing compassion toward those who are sick and struggling?” They have come up with the MAT Program (Medication Assisted Treatment) which shares similarities with the Deflection Program with one major difference. The first thing Rhode Island does is enforce their laws. Does it work? Of the inmates who participate in the MAT Program in prison, 93% continue with the program after their release. We’re not sure how Tucson PD’s Deflection numbers would stand up against a program with a 93% success rate since we doubt “they keep that information.” Just guessing, but we’re pretty sure Deflection is less successful.

We at Tucson’s Corrupt Leadership.com appreciate the fact people have recognized that Tucson has a problem with drugs. The Tucson Police Department and the Pima County Attorneys Office are trying to fix the problem, which is good. Unfortunately, it seems they are trying things that clearly won’t work, in the spirit of “hey, at least we’re doing something.” We can run around in circles and technically we’re doing “something,” even if it’s doing nothing to get us closer to a solution. 

Sources close to Tucson’s Corrupt Leadership.com have attended Crisis Intervention Training put on by the Tucson Police Department. During this training, four former addicts are brought out to talk to officers. All four, without exception, stated that they would not have tried to get help until they hit rock bottom. All four, without exception, hit rock bottom at the Pima County Jail. 

Everyone is different. Every addict is also different. While Deflection may work for some addicts, the one size fits all approach will not solve this crisis. Why then, would we dump out the tool boxes street cops have been using for decades and replace it Deflection and only Deflection? While we may not have the answer to this problem, we can clearly see that Deflection is not the magic bullet it was sold as. It may be a tool used by officers, but it will never be the only tool to fight this crisis. 

We appreciate your time, thanks for stopping by.