Will the Police offer me “Diversion”?

What is Police Diversion?

Diversion is a scheme managed by the Police Prosecution Service, providing an alternative to full prosecution for eligible defendants. If diversion is offered, accepted, and successfully completed, Police will seek to have the charge dismissed by the Court, meaning no conviction is entered.

Diversion is not a right, and Police are not obliged to offer it. It is a matter of prosecutorial discretion, considered on a case-by-case basis by a Police prosecutor.

Am I eligible?

Generally, diversion is intended for first-time offenders. However, diversion can still be considered where a person has past convictions that are old, or for offending of a genuinely different nature to the current charge — a clean record is not always essential, but it significantly strengthens the case for diversion.

A central requirement is that the person accepts full responsibility for the offending, as set out in the Police summary of facts. Diversion is generally not available to someone who intends to defend the charge, although an initial not guilty plea does not automatically rule out diversion later, if responsibility is subsequently accepted.

Offence-based criteria. Diversion is intended for relatively low-level offending. Certain categories of offending are treated as generally unsuitable for diversion, including:

• Burglary or dishonesty offences;
• Violent offences, including family violence offences;
• Sexual offences, or offences with sexual overtones;
• Serious drug offences;
• Traffic offences carrying a mandatory minimum disqualification; and
• Offences involving a breach of a Court order.

What will Police consider?

Even so, Police policy requires every offender’s eligibility to be considered, even briefly, regardless of the offence. This means that a serious or excluded charge does not automatically rule diversion out in every case — the specific circumstances still matter.

In deciding whether to offer diversion, a Police prosecutor will typically consider:

• The nature and seriousness of the offending;
• The views of the victim, where there is one;
• The views of the officer who dealt with the case; and
• The personal circumstances of the offender, including any previous history.

What does diversion actually involve?

If diversion is offered and accepted, Police will set conditions that are proportionate to the offending and achievable within an agreed timeframe. Conditions vary depending on the case, but commonly include things such as a written apology, a donation to a charity, attending counselling or a relevant programme, or completing a number of hours of community work.

Diversion is voluntary. You must agree to the proposed conditions before a diversion agreement is finalised, and you can withdraw from the process at any stage — though doing so will usually mean the matter proceeds to prosecution in the ordinary way.

Once the agreed conditions have been completed and evidence of this has been provided, the prosecutor is advised, and in most cases there is no need to attend Court again in relation to that charge.

Why legal advice matters

Because diversion is discretionary, and depends on how the offending is characterised, how responsibility is accepted, and how the case is presented to the prosecutor, early legal advice can genuinely affect whether diversion is offered at all. This includes how the summary of facts is responded to, what submissions are made to the prosecutor, and how any excluded or borderline offending is addressed.