Misdemeanor Deferred Prosecution Enhancement Program

The goal of Smart Prosecution is to develop a body of knowledge about data-driven strategies -- innovative, best practice, or evidence-based -- as they are implemented by prosecutors. Smart Prosecution grantees will identify a problem to be addressed and enlist a local research partner to help assess the effectiveness of their Smart Prosecution effort. Smart Prosecution grants require a research partner.

The Cook County State's Attorney Office (SAO) will develop, implement, and evaluate the Misdemeanor Deferred Prosecution Enhancement Program (MDPEP). The SAO will expand the current MDPEP to one district that currently does not offer it and pilot and research an enhanced model in the 6th Municipal District. The enhancement includes piloting a Misdemeanor Evidence-Based Assessment tool to inform prosecutorial decision-making. The MDPEP seeks to reduce subsequent criminal behavior, reduce costs to the system, minimize the collateral consequences resulting from low-level, non-violent convictions, and share findings with the larger community. By creating a diversion program that utilizes a free research-based assessment tool that is brief to administer in court, the program can be replicated in other jurisdictions nationwide. The research partner will conduct a quasi-experimental comparative effectiveness study with three conditions. CA/NCF