Clearing the air about diversion with children in conflict with the law: a systematic scrutiny of diversion in action in youth justice systems in Europe

Over the last five decades, diversion has been globally practiced with children in conflict with the law as a means for an expeditious exit from (or a non-entry into) the formal proceeding. Despite its proliferation, a universal consensus about its forms and contents has not been reached yet. A large variety of definitions, practices and purpose(s) are captured under this umbrella term. The prominence of diversion for children in conflict with the law – stressed by a number of international instruments and by consolidated research – is thus jeopardized by the significant heterogeneity that diversion practices experience across countries and the lack of analytical scrutiny of the challenges and risks that come with it.This research aims at systematically exploring the gaps between the normative ‘description’ of diversion and its reality in practice, shedding a light on what diversion is, as opposed to what it should be. The first part of the research will provide an overview of the heterogeneity of practices in the EU youth justice systems, to explore diversion’s actual features and purposes in different youth justice systems. The diversion systems of three countries will be analysed in- depth in the second part of the research, to assess the mechanisms and the real effects (both positive and harmful) of different systems and practices in terms of access, process and outcomes. The research will thus contribute to the development of a sound scientific basis upon which to build an evaluation frame to assess diversion systems in different countries.

Keywords:diversion, youth justice, fair trial

Disciplines:Youth and life course criminology

Project type:PhD project