Services we offer

Practice sharing  

We conduct presentations and co-designed workshops at local, regional, and national events on a broad range of topics —from point-of-arrest diversion to problem-solving approaches and more. We are lucky enough to have met and worked with a variety of practitioners who are experts in their fields, so if we don’t know the answer, we can put you in touch with someone who does.

Toolkits and Resources

We have developed a number of toolkits and resources which aim to support practitioners’ work on the frontline. For example, we develop toolkits, such as our point-of-arrest youth diversion toolkit, which summarises the evidence and provides practical resources for practitioners, and which can be adapted to meet local need.

Hands-On Assistance

We offer hands-on assistance that includes help with needs assessments, process mapping, implementation planning and review for a range of projects. We draft and review program policies and manuals. In some cases, assistance may be available at no cost where we have specific grants to cover our work. We can also provide help on a fee-for-service basis.

Youth Diversion

Since 2014, the Centre for Justice Innovation has provided support to over 40 point-of-arrest diversion schemes, ranging from straightforward cost avoidance analysis to in-depth consultancy projects. We are funded to deliver free enhanced support to four sites, per year, for a total of six days each. Practitioners who might benefit from this enhanced support are those considering creating a new point-of-arrest youth diversion scheme, or they have an existing scheme and want to make changes to enhance its effectiveness. We anticipate that local sites have different needs and do not expect fully-formed proposals at this stage - we will work with sites to formulate a plan for this support. Examples of support we have provided to YOTS/Police as part this offer include; multi-agency workshops, reviewing the scheme's protocol against the evidence and providing guidance on funding.

View our full youth diversion support offer here.

Adult Diversion 

In 2018/19 and 2019/20, the Centre has increasingly worked with practitioners aiming to create and expand pre-court diversion for adults. In October 2019, we held four practice-sharing workshops across England and Wales which were attended by 22 police forces. We are funded to deliver free enhanced one-to-one support to practitioners who are interested in creating new adult diversion schemes, or those running existing schemes in need of development. Included in our support is an opportunity to join our community of practice, take part in practice-sharing opportunities such as workshops.  

To view our full pre-court adult diversion support offer, please click here.

Community Advice

This toolkit has been designed to help district judges, magistrates, members of Her Majesty’s Court Service (HMCTS) and other practitioners to design and deliver advice and support services in magistrates’ courts. The toolkit contains step-by-step guidance on how to set up, deliver and evaluate the impact of an advice and support service in your area. It also includes practical resources that can be used as templates by practitioners designing and delivering similar services.