Youth diversion programme faces ‘serious challenges’ as major review looms
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Pat Leahy
The Garda Youth Diversion Office (GYDO) faces serious challenges, including a lack of resources, as it awaits the outcome of a major review into thousands of young offenders who faced no action after being found unsuitable for the Diversion Programme.
A special review team is currently conducting a “deep exploration” of issues identified by the Garda Professional Standards Unit (GPSU).
The unit found that gardaí took no meaningful action against thousands of young offenders who were judged unsuitable for the Diversion Programme - a group who, in 2016 and 2017, made up around 13 per cent of referrals.
An internal audit conducted earlier this year suggests that gardaí failed to pursue charges in around 6,000 cases involving young offenders in a seven-year period between 2010 and 2017.
Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy, chair of the Diversion Programme’s monitoring committee, has warned in its 2017 annual report that “interim indicators” from the review suggest that “emerging issues will present significant additional challenges going forward”.
The monitoring committee has also warned that the GYDO “remains under-resourced to adequately support the administration of the Diversion Programme”.
According to the report, the total number of youth referrals to the Diversion Programme rose to 20,006 last year, up from 17,615 in 2016.
There was a decline in the proportion of restorative cautions as a consequence of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017, but it is expected to increase again in 2018.
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