Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion is a pre-arrest program that aims to reduce criminal behavior and improve public safety by diverting non-violent misdemeanor or felony offenders, who most likely committed a crime as a result of a mental illness including a substance use disorder, from the criminal justice system and connecting them to treatment and social services. LEAD seeks to re-examine the role of law enforcement officers in our community, as well as develop alternative system responses independent of the justice system. 

In doing so, the program employs harm reduction approaches. It was initially established in Seattle and has been implemented in over twenty communities nationwide with the assistance of the LEAD National Support Bureau. It has led to a direct collaboration between police, prosecutors, civil rights advocates, public defenders, political leaders, mental health and drug treatment providers, housing providers and other agencies, businesses and community leaders with a common goal of addressing people that cycle through the criminal justice system.