Probation and Diversion: Is There a Place at the Table and What Should We Serve?

• NCJ Number: 232698
• Journal: Victims & Offenders Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2010 Pages: 233-239
• Author(s): Faye S. Taxman
• Date Published: July 2010
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For additional articles in this special issue see NCJ-232695-97 and NCJ-232699-701.

Annotation

This article discusses diversion programs.

Abstract

Three times as many offenders participate in probation and/or diversion programs than incarcerated. Probation and diversion programs are considered "alternative" punishments, and public policy has not focused on how to strengthen community corrections. New developments on targeting specific behaviors through the use of theoretical models of supervision can improve outcomes, or at least delay further offending. These models are important since they help provide a meaning to the core practice of diversion/supervision programsface-to-face contacts. Moving away from generic contacts to ones that are focused on specific behavior holds promise in elevating the value and importance of probation and diversion programs in correctional policy and practice. (Published Abstract)