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Safe Passage

A county sheriff's department program in rural Illinois offering assistance in finding treatment without fear of arrest for those struggling with opioid addiction

Started in 2015 in response to the opioid crisis, Safe Passage is a rural, multi-county, police-led diversion program connecting those with opioid use disorder to treatment facilities in Illinois. Prospective clients can, without fear of arrest, surrender any drugs and paraphernalia to the police department, after which they are assisted in finding appropriate treatment. The program involves the following steps:

  • Intake by a police officer, at which the individual's substance use history and any criminal record are documented in order to ascertain eligibility. A delay in prosecuting any minor non-violent charges until after treatment is negotiated with the state's attorney general 
  • Upon acceptance into a program, assignment to a volunteer (a "Safe Passage Guide", perhaps themselves in recovery) who supports the client in managing transition to treatment
  • Work with the Treatment Liaison Coordinator to locate potential treatment providers
  • Transport to treatment facility with Safe Passage Guide, family member, or police officer

An evaluation of Year 1 of the program is here, and a presentation of the program protocols and staff roles is here.  The Safe Passage initiative is modeled on the Police Addiction and Recovery Program (PAARI), now replicated nationwide,

Safe Passage offers officers a tool to really help people who would otherwise be on their own.

Continuum of Care
Treatment
Type of Evidence
Report with evaluation
Replicated
Response Approach
Diversion
Related Resources
Building Successful Partnerships between Law Enforcement and Public Health Agencies to Address Opioid Use
Law Enforcement Efforts to Fight the Opioid Crisis
Law Enforcement Pre-Arrest Diversion Resource Guide
Police & Harm Reduction: How Law Enforcement Can Advance Public Safety, Public Health, and Public Confidence
Responding to Individuals in Behavioral Health Crisis Via Co-Responder Models: The Roles of Cities, Counties, Law Enforcement, and Providers
The Unprecedented Opioid Epidemic: As Overdoses Become a Leading Cause of Death, Police, Sheriffs, and Health Agencies Must Step Up Their Response
Ten Standards of Care: Policing and the Opioid Crisis
RxStat: A Public Health and Public Safety Collaboration for Responding to Problem Drug Use at the Municipal/County Level
Safe-Passage-Initiative-Program-Policy-8-27.pdf

Evidence of Program Effectiveness

"In the survey of officers and staff in the police and sheriff departments involved in Safe Passage (n=79), 72 percent indicated there was either a very big need or an extremely big need for the Safe Passage initiative. Nearly all said the initiative should be expanded to other jurisdictions/counties (90 percent)." (Reichert et al., 2017)