We know that when it’s done well, diverting children away from the criminal justice system can work. It can reduce reoffending, lower the risk of future harm, and give children a better chance to thrive. But right now, too many children don’t get the right support at the right time.
We’ve just published two new pieces of research which shine a light on how – and why – youth diversion isn’t being delivered consistently or equitably across England and Wales.
The Behavioural Insights Team study
The first, conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team, involved a huge dataset of over 260,000 records of children and young people who came into contact with the Met Police.
We wanted to answer three key questions:
- Does diversion reduce the chances of someone reoffending?
- Who’s being diverted, and how do they compare to those who aren’t?
- Does the use of diversion look different across London boroughs — and are some groups more likely to be diverted than others?
We found that diversion was associated with reduced reoffending; after controlling for individual and offence level factors, the rate of reoffending after six months for children who are diverted is nearly halved (falling 45% from 8.2% to 4.5%). The research also revealed that the reduction in rearrests was greater for children involved in violent offending.
However, this research also highlighted the inconsistent way in which diversion is being experienced in terms of:
- Geography: Diversion is used differently by police across London. Outer London boroughs have the highest diversion rates and inner London boroughs show the lowest (41% and 42%).
Black children faced disproportionately higher rates of police contact than children from other ethnic groups (making up 44.3% of all cases, despite only representing 24.7% of the local population over the study period)
- Ethnicity: Black children were much more likely to come into contact with the police and when they did get arrested, they were less likely to be diverted than White children, even when the offence and background were similar.
The Cordis Bright Study
The second research project, led by Cordis Bright, explored how arrested children are referred into diversionary support. It found that decision-making around diversion is highly variable, with differences in local eligibility criteria, use of informal resolutions, and the availability of evidence-based support services. Officers and youth justice staff reported inconsistent understanding of diversion pathways, with some unaware of how or when to refer children for help. We also found that just a third of youth justice services said that the support they offer to diverted children is well-aligned to the evidence-base.
Just a third of Youth Justice Services stated that support for diverted children was ‘very well aligned’ to the evidence-base.
Together, these studies add to a growing evidence base which shows that diversion has a role to play in preventing children from becoming involved in violence, but it’s not quite working as it should.
YEF Diversion Practice Guidance: How to deliver diversion effectively
So, what are we doing about this? In collaboration with the Centre for Justice Innovation, we’ve developed new Diversion Practice Guidance based upon the best available evidence and practitioner insights. It sets out seven key recommendations to make sure diversion is delivered in a way that’s fair, consistent, and – crucially – effective. It provides concrete actions to enable you to:
- develop clear, consistent eligibility criteria;
- create a robust decision-making process, underpinned by effective information sharing;
- make support for diverted children swift, evidence-based, and high quality; and
- embed monitoring and accountability to maintain high standards of delivery.
But producing guidance is only the beginning. Real and sustained change requires sustained support to translate this knowledge into practice.
From guidance to change: Youth Justice Partnership and Whole Area Model
That’s why we’re investing in and testing two major change activities to help local areas adopt evidence-informed diversion.
Youth Justice Partnership
Working with the Centre for Justice Innovation (CJI) provides support to youth justice services across England and Wales. Through this partnership, CJI are hosting online events and light-touch training on key themes identified by the YJ sector, and delivering on-the-ground support to 10 services to address particular challenges. This could include:
- Providing multi-agency training: on a variety of subjects, including on Outcome 22 implementation and delivery;
- Addressing disproportionality: reviewing your local data and practice to understand why not all children have equal access to your scheme; and
- Reviewing protocols and documents: helping you to formalise procedures and paperwork for your scheme.
The Whole Area Model (WAM)
We’ve launched a pilot of a new Whole Area Model (WAM) for diversion. We’re working with four police force areas to co-design and test a model that puts evidence at the heart of how children are dealt with after arrest. The six-month programme supports each area to:
- Review and improve referral pathways, eligibility criteria, and decision-making processes.
- Strengthen multi-agency collaboration and training.
- Embed a culture of diversion and continuous improvement through scrutiny and feedback.
What’s next
At YEF, our strategy is to find what works and build a movement to put knowledge into practice. We’ve listened to professionals working with children day in, day out. We have a growing understanding of the barriers and gaps in the system. And we’re investing in the partnerships, resources and support that local areas need to close those gaps.
If your area wants to improve how it supports arrested children, you can:
- Read our Diversion Practice Guidance.
- Attend one of our Events or revisit one we’ve recently hosted.
- Express interest in either the Youth Justice Partnership or Whole Area Model
- Contact the Change Team: change.yef@youthendowmentfund.org.uk
Related content
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Formal pre-court diversion
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Informal pre-court diversion
Diverting children away from court and avoiding a criminal record. - Guidance
Report:Diversion Practice Guidance
This report – which was co-authored by the Centre for Justice Innovation – focuses on what happens to children at the early stages of the youth justice system when they first encounter the police. This includes both informal diversion schemes that divert children from all formal outcomes and formal out-of-court disposals, which can involve a…Youth Justice
