Diversion means finding an alternative way for criminal offenders to ‘pay’ for their crimes, so that they don’t have to follow the normal court procedures and end up in prison and with a criminal record. Diversion focuses on rehabilitating people back into their communities, and so diverting them away from the formal court procedures. Types of diversion programmes include attending a life-skills course, doing unpaid work in the community, or paying back the victim of a crime.

The new child justice system promotes the use of diversion of cases away from the formal court procedures. The Child Justice Act says:

• There must be an assessment by the probation officer of the child within 48 hours of the child’s arrest
• There must be a preliminary inquiry held by a district magistrate within 48 hours of the child’s arrest and before his/her plea

The Act sets out three levels of diversion which cover different types of diversion programmes. The probation officer can make recommendations about which diversion programme a child should be sent on.