More than 80% of survey participants agreed that neighborhood programs reduce the burden on their departments, make their jobs safer and improve community safety.

Gary Mohr, former director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said many people in prison have serious mental illness or substance-use issues. He said community intervention can reduce the chances that officers will have to repeatedly respond to the same situations.

“The more people we lock up for the longer period of time, the safer we’ll be, which is absolutely not what the evidence shows,” Mohr said.

According to the Alliance for Safety and Justice, the Department of Justice eliminated more than 300 grants to crime prevention and victims’ services groups nationwide.

Newtown Police Department Chief Thomas Synan said the survey results are not surprising, given the opioid and fentanyl epidemic that has led officers to witness, in some cases, the deaths of entire families from addiction.

Synan pointed to the Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition, which began in 2015, as an example of a program that has dramatically reduced overdose deaths and eased pressure on local law enforcement.

“Then our only tool is jail,” Synan said. “And we know we save a significant amount of money when we get people into longer term care or treatment, or we partner with community partners who are able to connect people instead of them just sitting in jail.”

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the funding cuts could lead to a rise in incarceration while also decreasing public safety.

Support for this reporting was provided by Media in the Public Interest and the George Gund Foundation.