Diversion in Practice: Implications for police reform and culture change

On Wednesday, 24 September we held a roundtable with experts in the field as they consider the broader implications for wider policing reform and culture change.

Diversion and out of court resolutions are both key to the Labour government’s aim to reduce knife crime and violence against women and girls, as part of the Safer Streets mission, and are a focus of the Leveson review of the Criminal Courts as a way to ease pressure on this part of the system. They also raise challenges for public trust and confidence in policing and criminal justice.

In this roundtable, we:

• Looked at what has been done, presenting findings about specific initiatives
• Heard practitioners’ perspectives
• Reflected on the challenges of implementation

The event was hosted in partnership with the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing and Professor Adam Crawford (Universities of Leeds and York).

Speakers included: Professor Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay (University of Birmingham), Dr Emily Evans (University of Birmingham), Nadine Hendrie (University of Kent), Heidi Lewis (North Yorkshire Police), Joy Doal (Anawim), Dr Alison Heydari (NPCC), Dr Tom McNeil (JABBS Foundation) and Professor Adam Crawford (Universities of Leeds and York). Panellists include Tina Macleod (NPCC), Fionnuala Ratcliffe (Transform Justice), and Nick Jeffreys (Youth Endowment Fund).

Watch the event

Running order

1:00 pm
Introductions 
Richard Garside (Centre for Crime and Justice Studies)

What has been done

1:10 pm - 1:20 pm 
Emerging evidence on knife crime and domestic violence interventions 
Professor Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay (University of Birmingham)
Dr Emily Evans (University of Birmingham)

1:20 pm - 1:30 pm
Police Drug Diversion: Equity in the implementation of drug diversion schemes in England 
Nadine Hendrie (University of Kent)

1:30 pm - 1:55 pm
Discussion and reflections

1:55 pm - 2.05 pm
Break

Practitioner perspectives on...

2:05 pm - 2:15 pm
Operation Divan – knife crime early intervention and prevention
Heidi Lewis (North Yorkshire Police)

2:15 pm - 2.25 pm
What we know about diversion
Joy Doal (Anawim – Birmingham's Centre for Women)

2.25 pm - 2.35 pm
Out of court resolutions
Dr Alison Heydari (NPCC)

2.35 pm - 2.55 pm
Discussion and reflections

2.55 pm - 3.05 pm
Break

Implementation challenges

3:05 pm - 3:15 pm
Diversion in the West Midlands: A critical case study
Dr Tom McNeil (JABBS Foundation)

3:15 pm - 3:25 pm
Listening to the voices of people with lived experience 
Professor Adam Crawford (Universities of Leeds and York

3:25 pm - 3:55 pm
Discussion and reflections

3.55 pm - 4:00 pm
Conclusions and close