NCJ Number
235160
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 55 Issue: 4 Dated: June 2011 Pages: 605-625
Date Published
June 2011
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a study of a juvenile diversion program.
Abstract
This article reports on a study of a juvenile diversion program based in California. It replicates a similar 1986 study of a Florida-based juvenile diversion program. Both studies examine the appropriateness of the actual juvenile population serviced in comparison with the declared and described programs' target populations. Findings in the current research support earlier findings that the diversion program services self-serving, low-risk populations, rather than their intended "first-time nonviolent," more seriously at risk of continued delinquent behavior, target population. This finding is examined in terms of its relationship to issues of labeling and net widening, and suggests how the current study diversion program manages to create a façade that more seriously at-risk youth are being properly targeted by the program. (Published Abstract)