A lot of emphasis was put on reforming the criminal justice system when Gonzalez ran for district attorney last year. During his campaign he often talked about the need to divert the mentally ill from the criminal justice system.

“Over half the adults in this country with a mental illness — and over 90 percent of adults with a substance use disorder — did not receive treatment in the last year, and too many end up in the criminal justice system by default,” said Miriam Krinsky, executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, a national network of prosecutors working towards criminal justice reform who helped to organize this weekend’s symposium.

Prosecutors in attendance will have the opportunity to hear from Miami-Dade County Judge Steven Leifman, who has championed reform in how criminal justice actors respond to mental illness. They will learn about innovations he has helped to implement. They will also tour Miami’s Mental Health Courts and its new Forensic Diversion Facility.

These programs have proven to work in treating some of the root causes of crime and in decreasing incarceration,” Leifman said. “Our work has resulted in substantial decreases in incarceration in the county — including the closure of an entire jail at a cost savings to taxpayers of $12 million per year.”

Gonzalez has motivation to decrease the number of people being locked up due to mental health issues because of his stated desire to help close Rikers Island. In order to do that, the number of prisoners held there on a daily basis will need to be reduced and diversion programs can be a tool to meet that goal.

Brooklyn is certainly no stranger to diversion programs. The Brooklyn Treatment Court was established in 1996 to help keep drug-addicted people out of prison. It was so successful, graduating 3,500 patients in its first 20 years, that the Veterans Treatment Court was established in 2015.

Gonzalez was elected last November after campaigning heavily on criminal justice reform. After he was elected, he announced the creation of his Justice 2020 Initiative, which formed a 63-person committee to recommend changes that will be implemented by 2020.

This weekend’s symposium was organized by the FJP and NYU Law School’s Center on the Administration of Criminal Law. The two groups are also planning an event with prosecutors, elected officials and other criminal justice practitioners in New York this April to create “concrete” recommendations needed for reform.

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