National Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Strategy Background Paper

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heroin) (Payne et al., 2007). In response, Australia has experienced a significant growth in
criminal justice initiatives aimed specifically at addressing the drugs/crime nexus. These
initiatives encompass a broad range of interventions that are commonly referred to as
diversion initiatives because they aim to divert offenders from the criminal justice system.
In broad terms, diversion involves the re-direction of offenders away from conventional
criminal justice processes, with the aim of minimising their level of contact with the formal
system (Payne et al., 2007). In its purest form, ‘diversion’ applies to those processes that
occur at the pre-apprehension stage prior to any formal charges being laid and are focused
on diverting individuals from the criminal justice system rather than referring to an alternative
form of processing (Payne et al., 2007). One example is informal police cautioning whereby
individuals, instead of being apprehended and charged, are given a verbal warning with no
further obligations placed on the offender and no official record kept of the contact. Over
the decades, the term has acquired broader application and is now commonly used to refer
to any processing option that offers what is perceived to be a different and less punitive
response than what would otherwise have applied (Payne et al., 2007). In addition, there is
now a much greater emphasis on diverting individuals to an alternative program rather than
simply diverting them from the system (Payne et al., 2007).
Over the past decade, diversion programs have been implemented in every State and
Territory, and there are currently five main types of drug-crime diversionary programs in use
across Australia (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2004). Within these broad categories,
there are a large number of possible interventions and each initiative can be implemented
in different ways and in different combinations. The following provides a summary of the key
stages and main intervention types:
• Pre-arrest: when an offence is first detected, prior to a charge being laid. Diversionary
measures here can include police discretion (e.g., offence detected but no action
taken); an infringement notice (e.g., fine but no record); informal warning (no
record); formal caution (verbal warning with record kept, but no further action); and
caution plus intervention (i.e., warning and record, plus information or referral to an
intervention program);
• Pre-trial: when a charge is made but before the matter is heard at court. Measures can
include treatment as a bail condition (e.g., no conviction if recorded if treatment program
completed successfully); conferencing; and prosecutor discretion (e.g., treatment
offered as alternative to proceeding with prosecution);
• Pre-sentence: after conviction but before sentencing. Includes measures such as delay
of sentence where the offender may be assessed or treated. The process can include
sanctions for non-compliance and incentives such as no conviction recorded;
• Post-conviction/sentence: as a part of sentencing. Diversionary measures here include
suspended sentences of imprisonment requiring compliance with specific conditions
(e.g., participation in treatment, abstinence from drugs, avoidance of specific associates,
etc.); drug courts (i.e., judicially supervised or enforced treatment programs); and
non-custodial sentences involving a supervised order, probation or bond requiring
participation in treatment as part of a sentence; and