“The purpose of this paper is to review the literature available on diversion in South Africa. The paper is divided into three parts:The first part examines the concept in its most general sense and traces the introduction and development of diversion in South Africa. This is followed by a description of the policy developments that culminated in the drafting of the Bill. The second part outlines the new procedures and mechanisms proposed in the Bill to ensure the expanded use and regulation of diversion.
The duties and responsibilities of the relevant legal personnel are described in this section, followed by two central and innovative research studies commissioned for the purpose of gathering support for and directing the law reform process. The final section analyses developments in the field
of diversion that have taken place in South Africa since 1997 in preparation for the implementation of the Bill. It then reports on the findings from a few programme evaluation studies that have been conducted.”
