Texans making progress with creative, evidence-based criminal justice.

Good things can happen when creative forces *and* evidence are working in your favor. Consider the DIVERT program in Texas. The criminal justice system in Dallas is trying something different -- and so far the evidence backs them up. One of my favorite NPR reporters, Wade Goodwyn, ran a story today on the Dallas Initiative for Diversion and Expedited Rehabilitation and Treatment, which diverts minor drug offenders away from prison.

Research-based public policy. Goodwyn visited a session with Judge John Creuzot, who spearheaded the program. Creuzot's opening remarks show how different his court is from traditional criminal justice: He works hard to develop a relationship with the offenders, speaks informally, and calls them by their first names. Goodwyn notes that "Creuzot says what's different about DIVERT Court is the intense judicial oversight. 'A person who relapses on drugs needs further treatment. Our responses are research-driven....' The statistics back him up. Two studies by Southern Methodist University show that DIVERT Court cuts the recidivism rate by 68% over the regular Texas criminal justice courts. For every dollar spent on the court, $9 are saved in future criminal justice costs."

Show me the evidence! Alas, NPR's online story follows the all-too-common journalism practice of *referring* to the evidence, but not providing links or specifics so we can look it up ourselves. (Is this because they want all the "link love" for themselves, and don't want bloggers linking to the source of the SMU study? I don't know, but I think they're making a mistake.) Another possible explanation, of course, is that Goodwyn didn't get the names of the specific research reports that show reduced recidivism -- if that's the case, I wish one of his research assistants would put together a traditional bibliography online.

Advocates now hope to expand DIVERT, extending it beyond first-time offenders and including a wider range of criminal violations (so someone with, say, 2 grams of cocaine could qualify for the program). I wish the media would share more examples of creative public officials in action.