First, their contract was stalled. Then, there was a secret bid to get them replaced. However, the battle between Mayor Andre Dickens and Atlanta’s beloved community Policing Alternatives & Diversion (P.A.D.) program recently ended in victory.
The worst-case scenario? That P.A.D.’s services would forcibly end in January. But, if that was the wish, it wasn’t granted. The City Council just approved a two-year, $5 million contract extension. Now, P.A.D. can continue its critical work, a clear threat to those in power itching for jail expansion, bloated police budgets, and the highly contentious Cop City.
P.A.D. practices an opposing future. It’s instrumental in pre-arrest diversion, intervening to help residents struggling with poverty, substance use, and mental health concerns avoid the trap of arrest and incarceration. P.A.D. offers short- and long-term care, from food and showers to finding affordable housing, therapy, and drug treatment.
That’s critical for Atlanta, where 1 in 5 residents lives in poverty. Up to 30% of jail bookings are for unhoused and poverty-related “crimes.” The arrested and jailed population is over 90% Black.
P.A.D. itself was started, nourished, and led by marginalized Atlantans impacted by the harm caused by responding to community needs with policing and incarceration. Keeping thousands from that fate is a need that those in allegiance to anti-Black violence seemingly refuse to understand.