Missoula’s Pretrial Diversion Program a Success Legally and Financially

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Missoula County’s Pretrial Diversion Program, entitled ‘Calibrate’, is reporting an impressive 83 percent completion rate over the five years since the program began.

I spoke with the Calibrate Program Coordinator Ray Reiser this week about the program.

The Calibrate Program Boasts an 83 Percent Completion Rate

“I was hired in 2019 to start up the diversion program here operated out of the county attorney's office,” began Reiser.  Calibrate is an alternative to traditional prosecution. We're looking at certain cases, and rather than handling those cases in the court system and running them through that typically can be a long process, so we handle them a little bit more informally.”

Reiser said the volunteer program can include a variety of actions as part of a case plan.

“We work with those individuals, and develop a case plan that they're required to follow,” he said. “That case plan could include things like restitution to victims, apology letters, community service, and a wide array of things. Then, provided the individual completes everything in that case plan, the charges are, in fact, dismissed.”

In Many Cases, the Program Leads to Dismissed Charges

After completing the Calibrate program, Reiser said individuals rarely re-offend.

“I was absolutely thrilled to learn that number that you're talking about, and that came out of the study from the sociology department here at the University of Montana,” he said. “What we learned, after we had sufficient data to really do an accurate study, is that individuals that go through our diversion program are 87 percent less likely to re-offend compared to it can those in a control group or similar defendants.”

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The Calibrate Program Has Collected Over $150,000 in Restitution

Reiser said the Calibrate program also appeals to the Missoula County taxpayer.

“We're not only making great inroads in reducing crime, we're actually simultaneously saving taxpayers money,” he said. “We're reducing the cost of processing all these folks through the court system and through corrections in jail, so I'm super proud of that.”

One proud Calibrate graduate, Justin Sell, allowed his photo to be used in this story.

Reiser said Calibrate has collected over $150,000 in restitution payments since its inception in 2019.