Question: What are the pros and cons of the Oklahoma pretrial diversion program?
Answer: The main good point of these programs is that they keep people out of jail who would be heading to jail otherwise. Again, typically to be accepted into the programs you have to have a recommendation of jail time from the district attorney so, short of the program, you would be going to prison. The programs keep you in the community and out of jail while you get treatment for the drug or alcohol problems that you are facing. The cons of the programs are that it’s a difficult program. Typically, people only make it through successfully if they really want help with problems. If you’re just looking for a shortcut, you’re not going to be very successful in the program and you will probably fail out of that program.