Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the timing of the program’s launch.
The city will launch its weekly “neighborhood wellness court” in Kensington in the coming weeks, according to multiple city officials.
The program is for people arrested on summary offenses, including disorderly conduct, obstructing the highway, public intoxication, and failure to disperse. Those arrested will face same-day adjudication and be given a choice between entering a drug treatment program or facing criminal penalties.
Summary offenses, which are less serious than misdemeanors, are processed entirely by the police department rather than being referred to the Defender Association and the District Attorney’s Office.
The concept of a Kensington fast-track court was first mentioned publicly by Capt. Christopher Bullick of the 24th Police District at a September Harrowgate Civic Association meeting.
Bullick described the court as a way to “hold people accountable for what they're doing” by demonstrating that there are “consequences.” He also mentioned its potential to connect individuals with treatment programs.
However, critics, including legal and harm reduction advocates, have raised concerns about due process, racial disparities, and the ethics of increasing criminal justice involvement without adequately addressing the underlying needs of people targeted.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) raised constitutional concerns about the program in a Dec. 17 letter to the Parker administration.
The letter criticized the wellness court for operating solely in Kensington and for prioritizing expediency over comprehensive legal representation.
“Any decision to issue a citation under these circumstances would not be based on a prosecutorial determination of what charges can be supported by evidence, but rather based on the perceived convenience and expediency of the NWC process being created for the Kensington neighborhood alone,” the letter reads.
The City of Philadelphia issued a request for proposals in August seeking attorneys to represent people in the wellness court. According to the city’s request, the court will operate one half-day per week, with potential for expansion.
“This is a fast-track court in which eligible persons using drugs in public will be arrested for summary offenses (rather than misdemeanors), receive medical and behavioral health triage and related social services, and be brought before a judge the same day,” the request reads.
ACLU staff attorney Solomon Furious Worlds said summary offenses are low-level offenses that typically result in a fine. A Philadelphia Police Department directive notes that officers may not take someone who has no warrants to a police station for a summary offense except for in specific cases, including when an officer determines it’s an “upgradeable” offense.
But in practice, according to Worlds, that is “largely discretionary.”
“Instead of the strong norm being to not arrest, the strong norm is to arrest, but only in Kensington and only with regards to these particular offenses,” Worlds said.
In 2016, Councilmember Curtis Jones introduced a bill, which was signed by former Mayor Jim Kenney, to decriminalize four summary citations: failure to disperse, obstructing the highway, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. These are the same four offenses that Pappas said the new wellness court model would target.
“If we want it to happen, it can happen through altering and changing that bill,” Jones said.
Jones noted the bill was created during efforts to reduce the prison population but said that “times have changed” and increased enforcement is now necessary.
“If you do a wellness court or community court that is targeted to particular areas or concerns, you can in that way mandate treatment,” he said. “That’s the way we’re moving and evolving in criminal justice … there have to be consequences for everything.”
In October, a coalition of activists and health professionals called Concerned Harm Reductionists United published their own letter opposing the program.
“Those caught in this operation are more likely to spend more time incarcerated, and thus suffer a greater loss of liberty and freedom, than normal—even if they received a summary citation for the same conduct in a different part of the City,” the coalition wrote in their statement.
Andrew Pappas, managing director of pretrial services for the Defender Association, raised concerns about the program’s development, noting that the organization was “brought in very late in the process.”
“Since we raised that issue and kept asking to have a seat at the table so that we could offer our expertise, we have been invited to a few meetings and been involved in the process,” Pappas said Friday.
The ACLU letter also raises concerns about people processed through the wellness court not having access to representation by a public defender.
Worlds said the city has not met with the ACLU despite the organization’s request. The city declined to comment on the ACLU’s letter or the wellness court but said they would share more information about the program soon.
Details about the process
Police will transport individuals arrested for summary offenses to the Police Assisted Diversion (PAD) office at B Street and Lehigh Avenue, where a nurse will evaluate them to determine whether they need immediate medical attention, Pappas said. Those requiring medical attention will be taken to Temple Episcopal Hospital, located across the street from the PAD office.
For those who do not require medical care, they will be checked for outstanding warrants. If no warrants are found, individuals will be eligible for the wellness court program and transferred to the 24th Police District at 3901 Whitaker Ave.
One of the Defender Association’s biggest concerns, Pappas said, is the large population of people in Kensington with substance use disorders who also have outstanding warrants.
If someone has a warrant in Philadelphia, the Defender Association will represent them in virtual bench warrant court, located at PAD. If the judge clears the warrant and does not impose a cash bail, the individual “in theory” can continue through the wellness court process, Pappas said.
However, if the judge does not clear the warrant or sets cash bail, the individual would be transferred to the custody of the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (PICC) on State Road.
Those with warrants from outside Philadelphia will not have access to representation from the Defender Association and will be taken directly from PAD to PICC.
At the 24th Police District, individuals will appear before a judge who will offer them a choice between a treatment program for up to 90 days or a summary offense trial for the alleged conduct that led to their arrest, Pappas said.
Summary offenses usually result in a fine, according to the ACLU and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, but the maximum sentence for summary offenses is 90 days, according to Pennsylvania code.
If this process results in more people landing on State Road, “it’s going to be a real travesty,” Pappas said.
Constitutional and health concerns
The neighborhood wellness court has also raised significant legal and health concerns, particularly regarding its potential impact on vulnerable populations.
Under state and federal law, people cannot legally choose between diversion or jail time if they are impaired by drugs or medication taken within the prior 48 hours, according to Worlds of the ACLU.
“It's really important for the court to be aware of that when they're considering what decisions they're asking that individual to make about their liberty,” Worlds said.
The ACLU also pointed out the potential for the new court model to disproportionately target Black and Brown Philadelphians.
The Philadelphia Police Department has a documented history of racial bias, particularly in enforcement of so-called “quality of life” crimes. In 2010, eight men sued the city for unlawful stops and frisks. The lawsuit resulted in a settlement called the “Bailey Agreement,” which requires officers to document all stops by race, ZIP code, and cause.
However, the ACLU’s analysis of 10 years of data found that Black people remained more than 50% more likely to be stopped without reasonable suspicion and over 40% more likely to be frisked without cause than white people.
Legal groups, harm reduction advocates, and the Defender’ Association, have been raising concerns about constitutional violations since May 8, when the city began a string of encampment resolutions and sweeps in Kensington.
Critics argue that programs like the wellness court could exacerbate issues with the city’s already overburdened prison system.
The Philadelphia Department of Prisons told Kensington Voice in June that staffing shortages make it difficult to care for the current population.
In August, a federal judge ordered the city to pay $25 million and address ongoing staffing issues, citing violations of a 2022 settlement agreement that followed a class-action lawsuit over "horrendous" jail conditions.
Recent incidents have intensified scrutiny. After police arrested 34 people in Kensington in September, 31-year-old Amanda Cahill died in her cell, prompting outcry from her family and activists. The ACLU letter referenced Cahill and the case of Jonathan Lau, who died of drug withdrawal in a police station in December. Another man, 41-year-old Joey Gabor, died in his cell at the Police Detention Unit (PDU) after he was arrested for alleged narcotics possession in Kensington in December.
City officials have been discussing the “treatment or jail” model since shortly after Mayor Cherelle Parker took office. The concept originally included “triage centers,” where individuals arrested would choose between jail or drug treatment and related social services.
Councilmember-at-large Jim Harrity, who represents parts of Kensington and is in recovery from alcohol addiction, voiced support for law enforcement action as a way to address the issue.
“I think they’ll choose it. You’re gonna have a few people who are gonna take the chance at going to jail,” Harrity said. “But either way it’s a win for us, because even if they go to jail they’re still going to be put in treatment in jail.”
However, harm reduction advocates argue that using criminal consequences to coerce people into treatment is not only ineffective but also medically dangerous.
Forced withdrawal increases the risk of serious complications, including death.
“The most effective solutions are those that result from community led, participatory processes that are designed and implemented by those who are most impacted,” the ACLU letter states. “This must happen before the city funds additional law enforcement-led diversion programs.”
Have any questions, comments, or concerns about this story? Send an email to editors@kensingtonvoice.com.
