Discuss diversion in regard to juveniles. Explain whether you disagree or agree with the use of diversion for juveniles

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• One of the most important alternatives chosen at intake is nonjudicial disposition or, as it is variously called, nonjudicial adjustment, handling or processing, informal disposition, adjustment, or (most commonly) diversion.
• Juvenile diversion is the process of placing youths suspected of law-violating behavior into treatment-oriented programs prior to formal trial and disposition in order to minimize their penetration into the justice system and thereby avoid stigma and labeling.
• Diversion implies more than simply screening out cases for which no additional treatment is needed.
• Screening involves abandoning efforts to apply coercive measures to a defendant. In contrast, diversion encourages an individual to participate in some specific program or activity to avoid further prosecution.
• Most court-based diversion programs employ a particular formula for choosing youths for diversion.
• Criteria such as being a first offender, a nonviolent offender, or a status offender, or being drug or alcohol dependent, are used to select clients. In some programs, youths will be asked to partake of services voluntarily in lieu of a court appearance. In other programs, prosecutors will agree to defer, and then dismiss, a case once a youth has completed a treatment program.
• Some programs can be initiated by the juvenile court judge after an initial hearing.
• Student responses will vary.