AWAY Alternative Ways to Address Youth "Review of Diversion in the Juvenile Justice Systems” from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Romania

This research is based in the analysis of Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Romania, particularly on the diversion measures in the juvenile system. It is a desk research concerning the respective judicial system of each country and its practical operation, and includes as well as statistics and interviews with professional stakeholders and the children involved. This was the first comprehensive research carried out on diversion practices in most of the countries involved. All of the national reports found that greater awareness of alternative ways to deal with juvenile offenders and of diversion is desirable and necessary not only for the general public, but also among the professionals working with juvenile offenders. In most of the reports, low rates of diversion are at least partially attributed to a lack of sufficient knowledge about it.