PREVENTING DELINQUENCY THROUGH DIVERSION - THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY PROBATION DEPARTMENT 601 DIVERSION PROJECT - A THIRD YEAR REPORT

• NCJ Number: 15595
• Author(s): R BARON; F FEENEY
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 22 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: California Council on Criminal Justice
• Corporate Author: University of California, Davis
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE THIRD MAJOR REPORT OF THE 601 DIVERSION PROJECT, WHICH IS CONCERNED WITH FAMILY CRISIS THERAPY INSTEAD OF JUVENILE COURT HANDLING FOR JUVENILE STATUS OFFENDERS.

Abstract

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE VALIDITY OF THE DIVERSION CONCEPT OF DELINQUENCY PREVENTION BY SHOWING THAT THESE CASES CAN BE DIVERTED WITH THE EXISTING RESOURCES AVAILABLE AND THAT THEY WILL RESULT IN FEWER REPEAT OFFENSES AND AVOIDANCE OF DETENTION, FIRST AND SECOND YEAR RESULTS ARE REVIEWED. FOR BOTH THESE, THE NUMBER OF COURT PETITIONS, THE NUMBER OF INFORMAL PROBATIONS, THE NUMBER OF DAYS SPENT IN DETENTION, THE COST OF HANDLING, AND THE NUMBER OF REPEAT OFFENSES WERE ALL LESS FOR PROJECT THAN FOR CONTROL CASES. ALL PROJECT CASES HANDLED DURING THE SECOND YEAR WERE FOLLOWED FOR 12 MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF INITIAL HANDLING, AND RESULTS ARE COMPARED TO BOTH CONTROL AND PROJECT FOLLOW-UP RESULTS FROM THE FIRST YEAR. REPEAT OFFENSES, COURT HANDLING OF CASES, INFORMAL PROBATION RATES, AND DETENTIONS ALL CONTINUED TO BE LOWER FOR PROJECT THAN FOR CONTROL GROUPS. SAVINGS IN WORKLOAD AND COSTS FOR HANDLING GAINED BY DIVERSION ARE ALSO DISCUSSED.