Describe the concept of diversion.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. A justification for community-based corrections, based on practical considerations, is diversion. Many criminal offenses fall into the category of "petty," and it is well-nigh impossible, as well as unnecessary, to imprison every offender for every offense. Diversion programs not only relieve the pressure on overloaded courts and overcrowded jails and prisons, but also spare low-risk, nonviolent offenders the "collateral consequences" of a conviction.In his "strainer" analogy, corrections expert Paul H. Hahn likens this process to the workings of a kitchen strainer. With each "shake" of the corrections "strainer," the less serious offenders are diverted from incarceration. At the end, only the most serious convicts remain in prison. The diversionary role of community-based punishments has become more pronounced as prisons and jails have filled up over the past several decades.Many politicians and criminal justice officials who do not look favorably on ideas such as reintegration and diversion have embraced programs to keep nonviolent offenders out of prison. The reason is simple: economics. The cost of constructing and maintaining prisons and jails, as well as housing and caring for inmates, has placed a great deal of pressure on corrections budgets across the United States.