NCJ Number
38662
Date Published
1975
Length
23 pages
Annotation
EVALUATION OF THE FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION OF THIS BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA PROSECUTORIAL DIVERSION PROGRAM DESIGNED TO DETER FUTURE CRIMINAL OR DISORDERLY BEHAVIOR ON THE PART OF YOUTHFUL (17-25) FIRST OFFENDERS.
Abstract
EACH PARTICIPANT IS SUPERVISED FOR A 3 TO 12 MONTH PERIOD, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE ARREST, WITH INTENSIVE COUNSELING, WHICH MAY INCLUDE EDUCATIONAL AND JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE, AS WELL AS REFERRALS TO COMMUNITY AGENCIES AS WARRANTED. EACH PARTICIPANT IS REQUIRED TO MEET WITH AN ASSIGNED COUNSELOR AT LEAST ONCE EACH WEEK AND ATTEND A GROUP THERAPY TREATMENT MEETING ONCE WEEKLY (12 SESSIONS), WHEN ASSIGNED TO SUCH A GROUP. A PARTICIPANT IS NOT RELEASED AS SUCCESSFUL UNTIL IN THE OPINION OF THE COUNSELOR, HE OR SHE HAS DEMONSTRATED A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE, REALIZED THE SERIOUSNESS AND CONSEQUENCES OF INVOLVEMENT IN UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES, ESTABLISHED A PURPOSE IN LIFE AND HAS A SUITABLE JOB OR ENROLLED IN AN EDUCATIONAL OR VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL PROGRAM. UPON SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM, THE CHARGES PENDING AGAINST THE PARTICIPANT ARE DEAD-FILED, AVOIDING THE POSSIBILITY OF A CRIMINAL CONVICTION RECORD. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETERS ARE ASSIGNED TO A FOLLOW-UP PHASE OF THE PROGRAM, WHICH REQUIRES A MEETING ONCE EACH QUARTER WITH A COUNSELOR FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR. OF THE 297 ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM, 101 OR 34 PERCENT WERE TERMINATED SATISFACTORILY; 46 OR 15.9 PERCENT WERE TERMINATED UNSATISFACTORILY; AND 20 OR 6.7 PERCENT WERE TERMINATED FOR OTHER REASONS. THE REMAINING 30 OR 43.7 PERCENT WERE STILL ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS AT THE END OF THE REPORT PERIOD. THE RECIDIVISM RATE FOR THE GROUP SUCCESSFULLY TERMINATED WAS 5.94 PERCENT AS COMPARED TO 21.54 PERCENT FOR THE CONTROL GROUP. A TOTAL SAVINGS OF 112,000 DOLLARS WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE PROGRAM. DATA ON PROGRAM REFERRALS, CHARGES ACCEPTED, AND ENROLLMENT BY RACE, SEX, AND AGE ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)