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ABOUT THE NCI PROGRAM The NCI Program partners Seattle Police Officers (SPD) to work directly with Department of Corrections Officers (DOC). The NCI teams work out of each precinct to work specifically with chronic offenders who are on active DOC supervision. By pairing both agencies to work together on a daily basis, they can share information and have a greater variety of options when contacting offenders. The NCI approach combines support for both the pro-social efforts of the offenders with a zero tolerance policy for offenders found involved in violence, drug exchanges, open drug/alcohol consumption, gang activity, truancy and loitering. The NCI team responds in some way to all of these offenses, ranging from transporting offenders to their probation officers, work crew, or detox. Because of the close interaction between SPD and DOC, the offenders can be monitored closely and best response can be made to the situation, effectively putting an end to the cycle of "arrest, jail and release" which often happens with chronic offenders. NCI is also somewhat of a safety net for the offenders themselves. In addition to arrests and transports to probation officers or detox, the officers also just regularly check in on the offenders, talking to them to encourage making pro-social choices, urging them into drug and psychiatric treatment if necessary, and handing out hygiene kits to homeless offenders. PROGRAM SUCCESSES Started in 1995 as a grassroots effort in the West Precinct, the NCI program has now expanded into all five precincts. The program has been successful in both hard statistics such as arrests and drug seizures, as well as in more intangible ways such as getting chronic offenders to seek treatment. |
The NCI program pairs Department of Corrections Officers to work directly with Seattle Police to monitor chronic offenders under active DOC supervision. |
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