Over the past decade, youth justice in England and Wales has achieved a remarkable milestone: fewer children are entering the formal criminal justice system, with prevention and diversion increasingly becoming the default response. Despite this progress, opportunities continue to be missed to divert eligible cases from court, driven in part by the requirement for a formal admission of guilt, which remains a key barrier for children from minoritised ethnic backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
This briefing explores what it would take to move beyond this milestone. Drawing on lessons from New Zealand, it highlights their “not denied” approach and shows how removing the requirement for a full admission of guilt could widen access to diversion and help ensure that no child reaches a courtroom unnecessarily.