The Limits to Diversion From Prosecution

Diversion in England and Wales is largely a matter of unfettered police discretion. With the help of material from an ESRC-financed study of prosecutions, this article will examine the dangers of diversion and the impediments to its continued and controlled growth. The importance of the str ucturing of discretion, in which the Crown Prosecution Service could play a part (although only if its role is greatly expanded), will be highlighted. Two problems setting absolute limits to the role of diversion will, however, always remain. The first is the adversarial nature of British criminal justice, which allows the police to control decission-making by other agencies. The second problem is that the aims of prosecution cannot always be fulfilled by diversion.