The major message of this report is that juvenile diversion, as practiced by the three Sheriff\u27s Department Projects in southeast Los Angeles County, appears to be quite successful. The accomplishments of these three projects were assessed with regard to two primary goals: 1. Reduction of the number of juveniles referred further into the juvenile justice system (probation and the courts) by law enforcement. 2. Reduction of the incidence of juvenile delinquency among youthful offenders subsequent to diversion. 1. The pattern of findings reviewed in this report provide convincing evidence that both these goals are being met. The highlights of that evidence are as follows: a. With the inception of the diversion projects in 1976, the number of diversions from the participating law enforcement stations increased substantially. b. The majority of the juveniles selected for diversion would probably have been referred to the Probation Department on non-detained petition applications if diversion had not been available; only a minority would have been counseled and released. c. The records of the sheriff\u27s stations participating in the diversion projects showed that they sent fewer non-detained petition applications to the Probation Department after the projects began operations
