The young people targeted for engagement in the project include:

• Young people whose parents/guardians are reluctant to engage with youth services.
• Young people who are long term early school leavers.
• Young people in families who are vulnerable to exposure from drugs and organised crime.
• Young people who don’t have a stable home environment.

2020 saw 16,301 youth referrals to the Diversion Programme. This is a decrease of 12.2% on 2019, which saw 18,657 referrals to the Programme. The number of children referred was 8,169, a decrease of 17% on the number of children referred in 2019. 78% of children were male and 22% were female. 1,441 children were deemed unsuitable for admission to the Programme in 2020, a decrease of 10% from 2019. 5,875 children received formal or informal cautions in 2020, which is down 23% from 2019. There were 716 restorative cautions in 2020, up from the 125 restorative cautions in 2019, which is an increase of 473% (see page 20). See page 40 for drug related statistics.