Brooklyn DA expands pretrial drug treatment program to entire borough
A pilot program designed to keep people out of the prison system by treating their drug addiction is being expanded to the entire borough, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Tuesday.
Project CLEAR, or Collaborative Legal Engagement Assistance Response, is a program meant to keep people struggling with drug addiction out of the criminal justice system. It allows them, prior to arraignment, to participate in a drug treatment program. If successfully completed, the DA’s Office would decline to prosecute their case.
CLEAR started approximately eight months ago in areas with high overdose rates including Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Bay Ridge, Prospects-Lefferts Gardens, Crown Heights and Sunset Park. It has been so successful that it was expanded to all of South Brooklyn and now, Gonzalez said, it has been expanded to the entire borough.