THE AUTHOR FIRST DESCRIBES THE CONCEPT OF DIVERSION FROM THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM, STATING THAT THIS APPROACH IS ONE OF THE NEWEST STRATEGIES ADOPTED TO PREVENT AND CONTROL DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR. HE THEN SPECIFIES THE SOCIOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF DIVERSION PROGRAMS, WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST TRADITION, LABELING THEORY, AND LABELING RESEARCH. FINALLY, CERTAIN PROBLEMS AND IMPLICATIONS OF DIVERSION PROGRAMS ARE CONSIDERED. THE ESSENTIAL CONCLUSION DRAWN IS THAT DIVERSION WILL PROBABLY NOT REDUCE RECIDIVISM OR CORRECT EXISTING ABUSES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)