Diversionary program. It’s a technical term for something portrayed in old movies: a parent arrives at a police station to pick up their child who, instead of being arrested and charged with a crime, has just been given a stern warning by police and an opportunity to make amends.
At no time in the ACLU’s nearly 100-year history has the struggle for our liberties seemed more daunting. But we’ve never been cowed by new threats to our rights, and we won’t begin now.
Following decades of punitive policies that have sent millions to prison and devastated communities in every state, a national reevaluation of the criminal justice system has taken root.