Diversion Programme
Definition
A scheme that redirects an alleged offender away from formal prosecution, typically for minor or first-time offending, into an alternative process such as a caution, mediation, community reparation, or counselling. Diversion aims to avoid the stigma and collateral consequences of a criminal conviction.
- Aim
- Redirect offender away from formal prosecution
- Typical eligibility
- Minor or first-time offending
- Alternatives offered
- Caution, mediation, community reparation, counselling
- Field
- Restorative and alternative justice
Common questions
Does completing a diversion programme leave a criminal record?+
Generally no; the point of diversion is to resolve the matter outside formal prosecution, so successful completion typically avoids the conviction and record that a court process would create, though rules vary by jurisdiction.
How does a diversion programme differ from a suspended sentence?+
A suspended sentence follows a conviction and formal court process with the punishment held in abeyance, while diversion happens instead of prosecution, before any conviction is recorded.
Related terms
- Community Sentence
- A non-custodial sentence served in the community, typically combining unpaid work requirements, supervision by a probation officer, or rehabilitative programme attendance. The...
- Developmental Prevention
- Prevention timed to specific developmental stages, such as infancy, early childhood or the transition to adolescence, on the premise that risk factors...
- Drug Court
- A specialist court that diverts substance-dependent offenders from prosecution into supervised treatment, with the judge playing an active monitoring role. Participants who...
- Early Intervention
- Action taken as soon as elevated risk or early problem behaviour is identified, before it consolidates into a pattern of offending.
- Electronic Monitoring
- The use of radio-frequency ankle tags or GPS tracking devices to enforce curfews or geographic exclusion zones as a condition of bail,...
- Family Group Conference (FGC)
- A restorative justice model developed in New Zealand under the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989, in which a young...
- Primary Prevention
- Universal measures aimed at an entire population or community, delivered before any risk has been identified in a specific child.
- Restorative Justice
- A process in which the victim, the offender, and relevant community members meet with a trained facilitator to discuss the harm caused,...
- Risk and Protective Factors
- Measurable individual, family, peer, school and community conditions that longitudinal research links to a raised or lowered likelihood of offending.
- Secondary Prevention
- Targeted measures aimed at children already showing elevated risk factors or early problem behaviour, before formal offending begins.
- Tertiary Prevention
- Measures aimed at children who have already offended, intended to stop reoffending and support desistance.
Explained in these topics
- Alternatives to Custody and Restorative Justice
- Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Unit IX)A scheme that redirects a first-time or low-risk child away from formal court processing into a community-based or restorative response.