The Marshall Project’s Closing Argument newsletter is a weekly deep dive into a key criminal justice issue. One of the most common new approaches — and one that has rapidly gained traction since 2020 — are civilian co-responder programs. These programs are often popular with law enforcement, while some critics argue that they don’t do enough to remove police from the situation. The programs are closely related strategies in which social workers or behavioral health specialists show up to calls instead of police.