Abstract
One of the major current fads in criminal and juvenile justice programing is diversion of offenders. At the same time, little hard evidence exists in support of diversion policies. Nine studies of the outcomes of specific juvenile diversion programs are reviewed in this paper, along with an investigation of the impact of diversion programs upon the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles County. Most of these evaluation studies were flawed by small sample numbers and other methodological defects. As a result, it cannot yet be said that diversion arguments and proposals are buttressed by firm research support.
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