Diversion is an opportunity to provide a positive intervention for young people who come into contact with police but, in most cases, WA Police, DoJ and other agencies are missing that opportunity. Despite the legislative preference for diversion, and its benefits, police chose to divert in less than half of eligible cases. There is no single reason for police choosing not to divert young people. There are many complex factors for police officers to consider in making diversion decisions, and they need more guidance and oversight to help them balance those factors and increase the diversion rate.

Only a small proportion of the young people diverted away from court are linked with services to help them better manage issues that influence their offending. The likelihood of those services being effective is reduced because young people’s needs are not being assessed, and agencies do not evaluate the effectiveness of the services. More meaningful diversion pathways and better monitoring of diversion decisions would also help to shift the balance in favour of diversion over court.