A Critique of Diversionary Juvenile Justice

The increasingly zealous support today for diversion of youth from the juvenile justice system is a consequence of several widely held notions: ( 1) Traditional strategies for dealing with juvenile offenders have not worked; ( 2) informal diversion is used both widely and effectively now; and ( 3) the most humane treatment of troubled youth is based upon the parens patriae philosophy of justice. Yet, the authors contend, diversion may be seen as potentially dangerous and harmful, and they present several arguments against expansion of diversionary services: (1) The concept's ambiguity allows many to promote expansion of the juvenile justice system in the form of diversion "to" other programs, while true diversion "from" the system is nonexistent; ( 2) the goals of diversionary programs-such as elimination of stigmatizing labels and formal duplica tion of existing informal processes-are unattainable; ( 3) formal diversion is incompatible with due process ideals. Until these difficulties have been resolved, diversionary options should be viewed with caution.