Over the last two decades, European countries have reduced the proportion of juvenile offenders undergoing formal juvenile justice processing due to the diversion of juvenile offenders who have committed petty crimes. Community service has been a major emphasis in these< diversion programs. On the other hand, there has been a recent trend toward greater punishment for specific types of juvenile offenders, particularly in England and France. Sweden emphasizes the individualized treatment of juveniles through dispositions by welfare boards, and Scotland has replaced juvenile courts with welfare committees composed of lay people. A major advantage of these diversion programs is the rapidity and informality of dispositions. They have been criticized, however, because of a general failure to evaluate their effectiveness or monitor their implementation. their effectiveness or monitor their implementation. Another claimed weakness is their emphasis on maintaining juveniles in their community surroundings even when they are debilitating. Inconsistency in criteria for diverting juveniles and inadequate due process procedures are other criticisms of diversion programs. Forty-three references are listed.