What Are "Diversion" Programs?

The formal name of the Prosecutor's Teen Court project is the "Pre-Charging Diversion Program." The Pre-Charging Diversion Program is also the segment of the program that the defendants (juvenile criminal offenders) must attend to keep from having a "record."

So what is a "diversion" program?

A diversion is an official halting, at any legally prescribed point after a recorded justice system entry, of formal criminal proceedings against an alleged offender. A diversion may occur immediately after an arrest or before action is taken to charge a person in court. Pulaski County juvenile offenders may be "diverted" at two possible points: at Juvenile Intake or at the Prosecutor's Office. (for more on this procedure see the section on Arkansas Juvenile Criminal Process).

The Prosecuting Attorney's Pre-Charging Diversion Program is so named because diversions take place before or in lieu of a deputy prosecutor choosing to file or charge an individual with a crime.

Most Arkansas counties have some sort of diversion program. Diversion programs are sanctioned by Arkansas law (Arkansas Annotated Code 9-27-323). Many counties' diversion programs are informal in nature, with community service and/or monthly reporting requirements to Juvenile Intake Offices. At the Prosecutor's Office, our program is set up to be a teen court that determines a sentence for an offender to complete instead of having to go to real juvenile court and have a record.