The Washington County Deflection Program provides an opportunity for people cited or arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance as an unclassified misdemeanor (PCS-U) to avoid prosecution through successful engagement in treatment.

This new program is part of the Oregon Drug Intervention Plan, established by HB 4002 and 5204 (2024).  These new laws established four pathways to ensure people facing PCS-U charges have an opportunity to engage in treatment: optional county deflection, conditional discharge supervision, formal probation supervision, and probation revocation with early release to treatment opportunity. Washington County’s Deflection Program is the first of these four pathways and became effective on September 1.

In the first 30 days of the program (September 1-30), 91 people were charged with stand-alone PCS-U crimes in Washington County. Of those people, 27 were eligible for deflection and as of October 7, 17 have chosen to participate. The primary reasons for ineligibility are because they are currently on formal supervision, or they have existing criminal charges.

When a law enforcement officer issues a criminal citation or makes an arrest for the sole crime of PCS-U, they provide a written and verbal description of the program, schedule the initial court date seven days later, and instruct the arrestee to contact the Deflection Operations Team (DOT). During the following week, the DOT will also attempt to contact the person. If contact is not made before the court date, a DOT member will be present in court to connect with the person before they see the judge.

“As we celebrate the first 30 days of our deflection program, I am proud to see the positive impact it is already having on our community,” Washington County Sheriff Caprice Massey said. “We are committed to redirecting individuals away from incarceration whenever possible and into essential substance use treatment, fostering recovery rather than punishment.”

 For more information about deflection in Washington County, visit wcor.us/deflection.