Prosecutorial attitudes towards diversion

Abstract

This report investigates a number of issues relating to diversion in an effort to make certain recommendations with regard to the running and management of diversion with a particular emphasis on the discretionary powers of prosecutors. The key questions are: To what extent does prosecutorial discretion influence decisions on diversion, and what systems or guidelines should be put in place to facilitate the expansion of diversion? The call for developing guidelines and criteria for diverting juvenile criminal cases is not a new one but there are other issues emerging such as who should apply these guidelines, and are prosecutors in fact positioned correctly in the system to make decisions regarding diversion? Other suggestions have been made with regard to decision-making such as giving Family Group Conferences a central role, but these have not found wide support to date.