NCJ Number
76425
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1981) Pages: 48-51
Date Published
1981
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Arguments are presented in favor of diverting the juvenile offender from the criminal justice system as a means of preventing future criminal behavior.
Abstract
In many States, the term delinquent is applied to all acts for which juveniles might appear before the police, even for such noncriminal acts as running away or truancy. The laws governing delinquency vary from State to State. In order to help children without imposing a court record on them, diversion is a logical consideration. Juvenile officers are the first to make decisions regarding diversion of a particular juvenile. If the officer takes care to establish rapport with the juvenile and to earn his or her trust, to listen to his or her story, and to examine the circumstances surrounding the supposedly delinquent act, the officer can make decisions for diversion which may prevent any such future acts. Adjudication and probation label a juvenile 'delinquent' and could lead to future delinquent acts. Diversion, much more of a preventative process, aims at finding solutions to the child's rather than punishing for behavior.