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Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Washington County Attorney's Office Adult Diversion Program

NCJ Number
180617
Author(s)
Richard D. Hodsdon
Date Published
April 1998
Length
169 pages
Annotation
The diversion program established in Washington County (Minn.) in 1995 for designated adult offenders was studied with respect it its impacts on recidivism, recovery of restitution, and criminal justice costs.
Abstract
The Minnesota legislature required county prosecutors to establish this program and assumed that it would reduce recidivism and criminal justice costs and increase restitution. The research used a quasi-experimental design to study 124 individuals enrolled in the program from its start until December 31, 1996, with 259 individuals who were similar in alleged criminal offenses and criminal histories and were not enrolled in the program. Factors studied included the rearrest rate as indicated in State computerized records, the costs of criminal prosecution, the use of resources, and the rate of recovery of restitution. Results revealed significant differences in a few areas. Some of these differences were statistically significant, but few of them were able to establish a definitive causal connection between the observed outcome and participation or nonparticipation in the diversion program. The two major groups that benefit from the existence of an adult diversion program are the offenders who avoid a criminal record and the crime victims who recover restitution at a more rapid rate than would otherwise occur if the offender were not diverted. However, the data did not provide statistically significant support for the legislative mandate to create such a program for the purpose of saving costs and criminal justice resources. Appended background information on the diversion program, tables, and 71 references

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