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The Politics of Criminal Diversions
Gauding, Patrick John
Gauding, Patrick John
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Abstract
The study of crime and punishment in political science is replete with explanations for the adoption and use of harsher punishments, but, significantly less is known about the motivations for, and resistors to, the adoption of criminal justice reform. This study explores the spread, public support for, and institutional actor perspective on criminal diversions, an alternative punishment scheme that allows prosecutors to hold defendants accountable while minimizing both public expense and the collateral impact of criminal justice contact. In Chapter 2, I conduct a framing experiment embedded in a nationally-representative survey of American adults. Overall, I find that the public is generally supportive of the use of diversion programs. I find that a frame emphasizing self-interest, namely taxpayer savings due to diversion use, modestly increases support for diversion. I also find that frames emphasizing the strength of punishment and collateral costs do not change levels of support. The findings have implications for prosecutors and activists, as they suggest that reform supporters may not need to fear a "backlash" effect in response to reform adoption. In Chapter 3, I conduct a diffusion study, examining the roles of coercion, learning, and emulation in the spread of diversion-authorizing statutes in the states from 1967 forward. I find no diffusion effects on the spread of diversion statutes, suggesting that the likelihood of reform adoption is more likely to be affected by state-level concerns than national-level concerns. In Chapter 4, I conduct a two-part study of prosecutor's offices and diversion-related criminal justice actors. I first conduct an administrative survey of prosecutor's offices nationwide, seeking to explore the variation in motivations for program operation and procedures. I then conducted fifteen semi-structured interviews with criminal justice system actors, including prosecutors, judges, and criminal defense attorneys. I find evidence of institutional isomorphism in the establishment of standard diversion practices by national organizations, and in the collaborative learning and teaching processes that prosecutors describe concerning diversion. The overall findings of this study suggest that the systemic prediction of reform adoption is difficult to characterize. I find support for previous conclusions that political and administrative pressures are related to the adoption of reform, but the adoption and implementation of diversions is highly localized. The findings do suggest that the challenge, and opportunity, for reform advocates lies in the local context, particularly in public education, framing, and the education of elected officials concerning reform options. This research adds nuance to the literature on criminal justice reform by providing evidence of the relatively robust level of support for diversion programs, and the institutional and electoral pressures elected officials face in adopting and enacting reform.
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Date
2022-08-31
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University of Kansas
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Keywords
Political science, Public policy, Public administration, Criminal justice, Criminal justice reform, Framing theory, Institutional isomorphism, Local government, Policy diffusion