Cumberland County has a well-established County Intermediate Punishment program ("IP"). This is not a pre-trial diversionary program; it is a type of sentence that someone receives after s/he pleads guilty or is convicted of an offense.

The goal of IP is to reduce the amount of time someone spends in jail and to provide supports for the person to address drug and alcohol addiction. In most cases, IP results in a qualifying individual's sentence being reduced and followed by a period of house arrest and recovery-focused parole.