| For many years, it has been the policy of the Gila County Attorney’s Office to give first time felony offenders an opportunity to avoid having that conviction on their permanent criminal history. Initially, this was done by instituting the Deferred Prosecution Program.
This program is offered to first time offenders after they have been formally charged with a felony offense. Once the defendant is arraigned, the prosecuting attorney offers the program through the defense attorney. If the defendant accepts and successfully completes the program, the charge(s) are permanently dismissed and the defendant receives documentation signed by a prosecutor and Superior Court Judge. In 1998 the Gila County Attorney’s Office began the Diversion Program. While similar to the Deferred Prosecution Program, this program is offered to first time offenders before they are formally charged. If the offender completes this program, charges are never filed. Upon successful completion, the offender receives documentation signed by a prosecutor showing that the charge(s) have not and will not be filed. Terms of both programs include: - No further criminal arrests, citations or convictions during the program
- No association with people that have pending or past criminal charges
- Notification of address changes, and if leaving their home area for more than a day
- Urinalysis testing, if deemed necessary
- No dangerous weapon possession
- Search of person or property without a warrant, if deemed necessary
Terms that apply in all cases include: - Reporting to the Diversion/Deferred office once a month
- Seventy-five hours of community service for a non-profit organization
- Full employment or student status or combination of both
- Taped admission to charges filed or that may be filed
- Full restitution to victims, if applicable
- Substance abuse screening and treatment, if applicable
- Pay program fee
Both programs have become completely financially self-supporting through the collection of program fees that all participants must pay while on the programs. In fact, collections have far surpassed the total program costs and some of those funds may be used to fund other programs within the County Attorney’s Office. Other benefits derived from the programs include saving court costs and prosecutor and defense attorney time and expense.
|