CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago police are expanding a program to keep low-level drug offenders out of jail by allowing them to seek treatment instead.
"We cannot arrest or jail our way out of this," Deputy Chief Antoinette Ursitti said Thursday.
The Narcotics Diversion Program has been tested in 12 police districts, and about 700 people have been diverted into treatment and counseling programs.
Chicago's public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, says the program has worked so well it's being expanded to all of the city's police districts by the end of the year.
She said it's important the city government to work together and "think differently" about the way it deals with some problems.
The program is open to any adult accused of possessing no more than 1 gram of an illegal drug, who does not have a previous conviction for a drug, gun or sex offense.
Drug users will also be able to walk into police stations and get referred to treatment and counseling.
