Net widening (week 10)

Question 1

net widening

Answer 1

• Problems with court alternatives occur if police do not refer young people for cautioning or warnings according to diversionary legislative frameworks
• There have been problems with police bypassing these provisions and charging the young person, even though the offence fitted all the criteria for being cautioned
• This results in a net-widening effect, which is contrary to the objectives of youth diversion program
• More recently effort have been made to ensure that police act according to diversionary principles and there is better training to ensure that police officers have a clear understanding of their diversionary roles and responsibilities
• There are substantial geographical variations in the use of diversion and it is likely that regional differences are due to the lack of resources in rural areas o support diversionary alternatives
• Rural Indigenous offenders may be doubly disadvantaged in this regard- not only are they vastly over-represented before the courts, but they are also likely to be disadvantaged by a lack of diversionary options