ISSUES AND REALITIES IN POLICE DIVERSION PROGRAMS

• NCJ Number: 37433
• Journal: Crime and Delinquency Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: (OCTOBER 1976) Pages: 421-427
• Author(s): M W KLEIN
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 7 pages
• Corporate Author: National Council on Crime and Delinquency
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS PAPER OFFERS A 1976 APPRAISAL OF POLICE DIVERSION PROGRAMS FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS IN ORDER TO UPDATE A SERIES OF DIVERSION ISSUES FIRST SPECIFIED IN 1971 AND TO SUGGEST NEW DIVERSION ISSUES RAISED SINCE THAT TIME.

Abstract

THE 1971 DIVERSION ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE AUTHOR INCLUDE: APPROPRIATENESS OF DIVERSION, SEPARATION OF POLICE DIVERSION FROM OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, DIVERSION CRITERIA, COMMUNITY TOLERANCE TO DIVERSION, ACCOUNTABILITY OF REFERRAL AGENCIES, AND STIGMATIZATION OF DIVERTED OFFENDERS. CURRENT REALITIES DISCUSSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THE PROBLEMS OF RESOURCE ALLOCATION, CONTROL OF DIVERSION PROGRAMS, AND FUNDING AND STABILITY OF PROGRAMS. BOTH THE UPDATED ISSUES AND THE EMERGENT ISSUES NOTED IN THIS REPORT SUGGEST THAT POLICE INVOLVEMENT IN DIVERSION, WHILE IT HAS INCREASED AT A VERY RAPID RATE, HAS BEEN SO TENTATIVE AND EXPLORATORY THAT A WITHDRAWAL WOULD NOT BE DIFFICULT. THE ABSENCE OF OBJECTIVE IMPACT DATA AND THE LACK OF COMMITMENT TO EVALUATION ARE CITED AS MAJOR DEFICIENCIES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)