GUNS -n- BUTTER

 FIP...rarer letters you will not see. 
Intervention for a gun,
Priors, you better not have even one. 
And even then its no guarantee, 
your client will be accepted into PTD.

You must apply,

then wait and see,

if your client gets...FIP 

From: Don L. Horn <DonLHorn@MiamiSAO.com> 

Subject: Firearm Intervention Program Update, Policies, Criteria and Procedures for Referrals. All Felony Division ASAs Must Read this Email.

Importance: High

Good Day!

We periodically review our diversion programs to ensure that they are effective tools for rehabilitation and to support our duty to protect our community.   To that end, as a result of the large increase in the number of CCF and gun violence cases in our community, we have reviewed the Firearm Intervention Program (hereinafter FIP) and will revert to the initial eligibility criteria for participation in the Program.

As indicated by the increasing number of “Breaking News Alerts” flooding your cell phones and TV screens and the all too frequent headlines from newspapers and other media, the level of gun violence in our communities is sky rocketing.  This result is probably compounded by the staggering increase we are seeing in the number of persons who are walking, driving, cycling, dining, drinking and celebrating while carrying firearms (legally and illegally).  As indicated by the following data, the number of arrests for the charge of Carrying a Concealed Firearm have been climbing: 657 arrests in 2018; 613 arrests in 2019; 738 arrests in 2020 and already 573 arrests for the first 5 months of 2021!  We believe the ready availability and accessibility, and the current proliferation of firearms being possessed (legally and illegally), have contributed to the explosion of gun violence we are witnessing.  Also, our review has revealed that improper cases were being referred to FIP by inexperienced and over-worked ASAs.  As a result of all the above, we are pivoting on our FIP policy and until things change, we will no longer be referring any defendants to the Firearm Diversion Program unless they meet the strict guidelines below.

Although in recent years we expanded the FIP criteria regarding “prior records”, the fact pattern analysis for FIP was never expanded.  We will be reverting to the original policy and rationale for the creation of the Firearm Intervention Program, namely Providing pre-trial diversion for persons who inadvertently are found to be in possession of firearms (usually in their briefcases or luggage going through magnetometers in courthouses or the airport).  Those defendants will also have to meet the stringent requirements below and you will have to follow the procedures below to secure their referral to FIP.  We will NOT be referring defendants to ANY other diversion program for CCF charges.  DCs can no longer offer probation and a gun course and then a vacation of the plea and nolle prosse after 6 months to get around the FIP policy that previously existed.  The fact that you may have difficult caseloads cannot be a reason to use FIP as a case management tool.

No defendant will be referred to FIP unless the ASA handling the case follows these procedures and the defendant meets all of the following criteria:

 Before an ASA attempts to have a defendant considered for FIP, the ASA must first determine that:

1. The defendant has no prior record, which we interpret to mean the defendant has no prior arrests (regardless of the disposition of the prior arrest(s)).
2. The CCF must be a stand-alone charge and the gun cannot be stolen.  The defendant can have no accompanying arrest charges, whether filed or no-actioned.
3. Based on the facts of your case, the carrying of the firearm should/must be unintentional/inadvertent.
4. If, and only if, you have a defendant who meets all of the above criteria, you must submit a PTI referral form directly to Deputy Chief Assistant Marie Jo Toussaint to have your defendant “considered” for FIP.
5. An offer to be considered for FIP diversion will be made only after 1) the ASA has submitted to Deputy Chief Toussaint the PTI Referral form, a copy of the defendant’s prior record and the facts of the case ( “A” form);  2) those documents have been reviewed by Deputy Chief Toussaint; and 3) she advises you by email that your case will be submitted to an SAO Investigator.  
6. The email from Deputy Chief Toussaint will include information for you to provide to the defense attorney (and through him to his client the defendant) advising what is required to be approved. The approval will be contingent upon the investigation and evaluation of the facts by our SAO Investigator, confirmation of the defendant’s lack of a prior record and the result of the interview of the defendant by the SAO Investigator

 For all pending cases, whether still on your pending caseload or presently in the pipeline with Pretrial Services and/or under review by our Investigations Unit, the defendant will be rejected and not accepted into FIP, if the defendant does not meet the above criteria, the defendant does not respond to the Investigator’s call, refuses to provide a sworn statement or if you did not follow the above process.  If you have any questions with regards to the above, please speak to your Chief Assistant or Deputy Chief Assistant or Deputy Chief Toussaint.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.  Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you believe should have this information.