Labeling, Deterrence, and Recidivism: A Study of Police Dispositions of Juvenile Offenders
Abstract
Police departments with high rates of juvenile diversion did not yield different recidivism rates than those with low diversion rates unless comparisons were made between first offenders and multiple offenders. Then, the two sets of departments differed substantially: high diversion departments had lower subsequent recidivism rates for first offenders than for multiple offenders, while low diversion departments did not exhibit such differences. The emergence of differences in multiple but not in simple recidivism and among high diversion but not among low diversion departments tentatively supports both labeling theory and a deterrence approach in interaction with departmental and offender variables. There is also a suggestion that the effects of delinquent stigmatization are cumulative with each arrest, supporting Lemert's secondary deviance conception, at least among first offenders in high diversion departments.
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Studies that sought to adjudicate between deterrence and labeling have had mixed results.
“The ones that sought to do so have had mixed results (e.g., Klein, 1974; Nedelec & Silver, 2018; Smith & Gartin, 1989; Ward & Tittle, 1993; Wiley & Esbensen, 2016), leaving the difficult task of having to draw on an inconclusive evidence base when making policy recommendations.”
From Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins (2020) · cites this paper as Klein, 1974
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- Authors
- Klein, M. W.
- Affiliations
- University of Southern California (US)
- Corresponding author
- Klein, Malcolm W.
- Venue
- Social Problems
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1974-12
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 292-303
- ISSN
- 0037-7791 (ISSN-L)
- 1533-8533
- OpenAlex
- W2025403193
- Cited by
- 48
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Problems (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
- Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
- Keywords
- juvenile delinquency, juvenile diversion, recidivism, labeling theory, deterrence, first offenders, multiple offenders, secondary deviance, police departments
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