Reducing School-Based Arrest: Results of Pre-Arrest Diversion in Philadelphia Schools

• In Event: Examining the Effect of Schools on Juvenile Justice Outcomes

Abstract

Arrest may have negative future consequences for youth by involving them in the justice system, negatively labeling them among their peers and teachers, and disrupting their schooling. In 2014, all schools in Philadelphia introduced a pre-arrest diversion program in which students with no prior delinquency adjudications or open cases who commit low-level offenses are automatically diverted from arrest and referred to voluntary services. This diversion program resulted in a decline in school-based arrests by 84 percent from 2014-15 through 2018-19 (Goldstein et al., 2021). This study estimates the effects of being diverted from a school-based arrest on later arrest outcomes using a difference-in-differences design to isolate the effects of the policy from existing trends in school disciplinary practices and arrests. Measuring the effects of school diversion on future arrests provides insight into how avoiding arrest affects students’ life trajectories. By avoiding an initial arrest, students may avoid collateral consequences associated with juvenile justice involvement such as labeling and school disruption and may therefore incur fewer future arrests.

Authors

• Monica Mielke, University of Pennsylvania

• Naomi Goldstein, Drexel University

• Amanda NeMoyer, Drexel University

• TuQuynh Le, Drexel University