Re-evaluating Diversion in the Juvenile Justice System

• In Event: Juvenile Intake and Detention

Abstract

In one of the first systematic appraisals on diversion in the juvenile justice system, Cressey and McDermott (1974) hypothesized that "lawbreaking" juveniles would be processed along the due process model instead of being diverted. Despite the variety in research on diversion, this prediction is yet to be assessed. Using statistical models including time series models for case counts between 1985 and 2013, I look at the trends of how cases in the juvenile justice system were handled- either as true diversion or as minimization of penetration. Preliminary results indicate less support for true diversion and more support for the minimization of penetration. This suggests that there is some evidence of net-widening in the juvenile justice system. On the other hand, the trends also indicate a decline in the total number of cases which suggests that perhaps certain cultural changes have impacted children and youth as well as juvenile justice officials. Therefore, this study is an effort to evaluate the extent to which diversion has occurred in the juvenile justice system and address the implications of these trends on criminological theories of labeling and social control.

Author

• Stuti Subbaiah Kokkalera, Northeastern University