The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland has funded the Cleveland Divert adult deferred prosecution service since it began in 2018.
Previously, Durham Tees Valley Community Rehabilitation Company delivered Divert. This was prior to the national reunification of Probation Service in 2021.
As a result, Probation Service North-East absorbed the existing grant arrangements and continued delivery.
As part of the local reducing re-offending strategy, Cleveland Divert was commissioned to work with first-time offenders and those who have not offended within the previous six-month period.
It aims to engage individuals into effective support services to address the underlying causes related to their offending behaviour and identified needs (for example, support with mental health or reducing substance misuse).
To inform future commissioning intentions, during 2024 the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) undertook a review of all commissioned services – including Cleveland Divert.
The review concluded that the provider was delivering a high-quality service and the scheme continued to support the PCC priorities in reducing re-offending.
Cleveland Divert has a re-offending rate of 4.7% in comparison to Cleveland’s proven reoffending rate of 32.9% (England and Wales rate: 25.4%).
Furthermore, it was acknowledged that Cleveland Divert would play a key role in supporting Cleveland Police with the implementation of the Two-Tier Out-of-Court-Resolution (OoCR) Framework and increasing the local use of OoCR’s.
Following consideration of the review findings, the PCC agreed to renew grant arrangements with Probation Service North-East to continue the delivery of Cleveland Divert for a four-year period (1st April 2025 – 31st March 2029).
Decision 2024/25 – 0016: Cleveland Divert (application, 199kB)