NCJ Number
89391
Journal
Justice System Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: (Winter 1982) Pages: 361-387
Date Published
1982
Length
34 pages
Annotation
For over a decade pretrial diversion programs have attempted to influence court systems and to address the problem of youthful criminality by diverting selected defendants from traditional court processing into social service programs. This article reviews the history of this reform movement and the results of the substantial evaluation research it stimulated.
Abstract
The article concludes that increasingly sophisticated studies (especially those using direct experimental designs) indicate that diversion cannot be assumed to have a positive impact. Viewed from the perspective of recent literature on the other types of 'alternatives,' diversion research suggests that there are endemic conditions in the adjudicatory process that make it difficult for various alternatives to achieve the goals reformers and program operators intended. Further research on how decision making takes place in courts is called for in order to understand better the potential consequences of introducing new resources into complex systems of negotiated decisions. (Author abstract)