Title:

Factors that Predict Juvenile Diversion Success and Continued Contact with Law Enforcement

Juvenile Diversion programs are alternative community-based programs for a youth offender who may otherwise be dealt with in juvenile court. As this is an evolving practice, we must analyze the factors that create the successful completion of such a program. My colleagues and I were tasked with analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data of juvenile records from a local law enforcement agency to find any correlational patterns that lead to the successful completion of these diversion programs. We were interested in the number of police contacts that occurred prior to a juvenile petition being filed, the reasons for these contacts, the number of arrests before and after the juvenile petition and the age of juveniles both at the time of their first police contact and at the time of the juvenile petition. Preliminary results suggest that as the age of a juvenile when their petition is filed increases, the likelihood of continued police contact after their diversion program decreases. These preliminary results also suggest that an increase in police contacts prior to the diversion program decreases the likelihood of a juvenile successfully completing the program. Juvenile diversion programs not only are aimed to benefit the youth offender, but the community, and the juvenile justice system. This imperative tie between law and society is why we must support these programs and conduct such research to improve the effectiveness of this rehabilitative practice.

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