Court Processing Versus Diversion Of Status Offenders - A Test Of Deterrence and Labeling Theories

• NCJ Number: 89411
• Journal: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1983) Pages: 39-54
• Author(s): S Rausch
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): 76-JN-99-0015; 76-JN-99-1003
• Sponsoring Agency: US Securities and Exchange Cmssn
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Revised version of a paper presented at the 1980 meetings of the American Society of Criminology in San Francisco

Annotation

Two theoretical perspectives, labeling and deterrence, lie at the heart of the current controversy regarding status offenders. These perspectives predict discrepant effects from juvenile court and community-based processing on subsequent behavior.

Abstract

Using data collected during an LEAA-funded evaluation of Connecticut's Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders Project, this paper compares the effects of diversion programs with those of juvenile court processing on subsequent delinquency. The results indicate that it makes no difference, with respect to official recidivism, whether status offenders experience juvenile court processing or a diversion program. Thus, there is no support for one program over the other on the basis of either deterrent or negative labeling effects. (Author abstract)