WILL DIVERSION REDUCE RECIDIVISM?

• NCJ Number: 37434
• Journal: Crime and Delinquency Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: (OCTOBER 1976) Pages: 428-437
• Author(s): R J LUNDMAN
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 10 pages
• Corporate Author: National Council on Crime and Delinquency
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS ESSAY PROVIDES A PRELIMINARY OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF JUVENILE DIVERISON PROGRAMS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF THESE PROGRAMS AND TO EVALUATE THEIR PROBABILITIES OF SUCCESS IN REDUCING DELINQUENCY.

Abstract

THE AUTHOR FIRST DESCRIBES THE CONCEPT OF DIVERSION FROM THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM, STATING THAT THIS APPROACH IS ONE OF THE NEWEST STRATEGIES ADOPTED TO PREVENT AND CONTROL DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR. HE THEN SPECIFIES THE SOCIOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF DIVERSION PROGRAMS, WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST TRADITION, LABELING THEORY, AND LABELING RESEARCH. FINALLY, CERTAIN PROBLEMS AND IMPLICATIONS OF DIVERSION PROGRAMS ARE CONSIDERED. THE ESSENTIAL CONCLUSION DRAWN IS THAT DIVERSION WILL PROBABLY NOT REDUCE RECIDIVISM OR CORRECT EXISTING ABUSES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)