Briefing for the Launch of LEAD UK
This briefing marks the launch of LEAD (Let Everyone Advance with Dignity) in the UK. LEAD is an ambitious, whole system approach to harm reduction and law enforcement. This police-led diversion approach is used pre-arrest and at the point of arrest.
LEAD has been designed specifically for young adults (18-25) in the ’revolving door’. These are people who commit repeated low-level, non-violent crimes, often driven by a combination of mental ill-health, problematic substance use, homelessness, trauma and poverty.
With LEAD, independent decision-makers collaborate on a voluntary basis across health, local authority and PCC boundaries. In addition to police, service providers, community groups, prosecutors and elected officials, people with relevant lived experience are also meaningfully involved as partners.
LEAD is proven to achieve a 58% decrease in rates of rearrests and an 87% decrease in prison admissions for repeat offenders. It also reduces some of the racial disparities among this population and brings reconciliation to police and community relations.
