Youth pre-court disposals

Young person facing a split in an arrow
We promote evidence and best practice surrounding pre-court disposals in the youth justice system.

Point of arrest diversion is especially important for children. Formal justice system processing, either prosecution in court or out of court disposals, can result in a criminal record, and can actually increase the likelihood of reoffending. Since 2014, we have been working closely with youth offending teams, police and other practitioners within the youth justice system across the country, to demonstrate the value and impact of diversion work, and share effective practice. 

Please see the below publications to learn more. To find out what youth diversion is, the benefits it offers and what the process involves, watch our short video 'What is diversion?' here. To keep up to date with our latest work and recent developments in youth diversion please click here to subscribe to our quarterly Youth Diversion Bulletin. You can view an archive of previous bulletins here.

If you are interested in setting up or scheme or if you would like support, please email our practice officer Bami at bjolaoso@justiceinnovation.org.


Youth Diversion Effective Practice Award

We have developed in partnership with the Youth Justice Institute an Effective Practice Award, a free online course designed to help practitioners understand the key principles of diversion from the formal criminal justice system, and the implications in everyday practice with children and young people who have been arrested for relatively low-level offences.
 

Click here to access the Effective Practice Award  →

Publications

  • Toolkit

    Valuing youth diversion: A toolkit for practitioners

    This toolkit is for any practitioner who is involved in, or considering creating, a diversion scheme for children in contact with the youth justice system. This is the Centre's 6th edition of the toolkit, published in 2024. 

  • report

    Children and young people’s voices on youth diversion and disparity

    by , , , and

    This project explores the experiences of children and young people currently in the youth justice system, and how they perceive these interactions with the police, solicitors and youth justice services to have been influenced by their ethnic background.

  • Briefing

    The right support at the right time: Where the justice system fits in

    by

    This briefing brings attention to the particular damaging impact that contact with the youth justice system has on the over children with Special Educational Needs and Disability, and provides practical ideas about what can be done to address this harm.