Media Release
Embargoed until 00:01 a.m. (AEST) Tuesday 25 June 2024
The Sentencing Advisory Council has today published a new report examining the use of the Criminal Justice Diversion Program in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria for the 10 years from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2021. The report shows that 93% of people successfully complete diversion plans, and that people receiving diversion plans are half as likely to reoffend as people who receive other court outcomes.
A diversion plan is one of the options available to people prosecuted in the Magistrates’ Court. It requires a person to comply with certain conditions, especially to be of good behaviour and not reoffend, for a period of up to 12 months. If at the end of that period the person has complied with all the conditions, they can avoid having a criminal record for the offending. Diversion plans are mostly available for people who are first-time offenders and whose offending is not too serious.
This new report updates the Council’s 2008 analysis of diversion plans in the Magistrates’ Court, including the prevalence of diversion plans, the demographics of people receiving them, and the conditions attached to them. In addition, the new report:
- shows trends over time, using a 10-year reference period
- looks at the use of diversion plans in cases involving family violence offending
- analyses the prior offending and reoffending rates of people receiving diversion plans.
Some of the key findings in the data include:
- There has been an increase in the use of diversion plans: almost 51,000 people received a diversion plan in the 10-year period. The proportion of diversion plans increased from 5.4% of all cases finalised in the Magistrates’ Court (in 2011–12) to 6.6% (in 2020–21).
- Most people successfully complete diversion plans: 93% of people who receive a diversion plan successfully complete it. Even with the increased use of diversion plans in recent years, the proportion of people who successfully complete diversion plans was over 91% every year.
- Most people who receive diversion plans don’t reoffend: about 1 in 5 people who receive a diversion plan are sentenced for other offending at some stage in the next 5 years (21%). In comparison, almost twice as many people who receive other court outcomes are sentenced for other offending in the next 5 years (40%). Some caution is required in comparing the two groups ̶ people who receive other court outcomes are more likely to have committed more serious offending and/or to have a prior criminal history. Nevertheless, the significantly lower reoffending rate for people who receive diversion plans suggests that a diversion plan is an effective tool in reducing reoffending.
- Women are more likely than men to receive diversion plans, especially in family violence cases: most people who received diversion plans were male (67%); however, this is largely because men represent the majority of people sentenced for criminal offending. Women were actually more likely than men to receive diversion plans (8.7% of female offenders, compared to 5.2% of male offenders). This was especially true in cases involving family violence offending (17% of female offenders in family violence cases, compared to 5% of male offenders in family violence cases).
- Diversion plans are most common for younger offenders, older offenders, and property offences: the age groups most likely to receive diversion plans were younger people aged 18 to 19 and older people aged 65 and over. Property offences, such as theft and criminal damage, were the most common offence type to result in a diversion plan (14% of those cases), and traffic offences were the least common offence type (1.6% of those cases). This is at least partly because diversion plans are not available for offending that involves mandatory penalties, including driver licence suspension or disqualification.
Quotes Attributable to Sentencing Advisory Council CEO, Dr Paul McGorrery
‘This report confirms what many people working in the justice system already know from their own personal experience: diversion works. It has become an increasingly common outcome of criminal proceedings in Victoria. It has consistently maintained exceptionally high successful completion rates. And people receiving diversion plans are half as likely to reoffend as people receiving other court outcomes.’
‘The cost-effectiveness of diversion plans, coupled with lower reoffending rates, suggests that diversion plans have the potential to reduce both the human and financial costs of crime to all Victorians. Collectively, these findings offer potent support for the effectiveness of diversion plans in appropriate cases.’
About the Sentencing Advisory Council
The Council is an independent statutory body established in 2004. It has a number of legislative functions, including conducting research on sentencing, consulting on sentencing matters, publishing sentencing statistics, and advising the Attorney-General on sentencing matters.
