Referral for prosecution

You may be referred for prosecution for offences which are considered very serious and/or where you deny the offence, or have 2 or more recorded 'disposals' within the system.

The new Public Prosecution Service will consider your case and decide whether to:

• refer back to the police for further investigation;
• refer for diversionary conference;
• prosecute; or
• close the case without prosecution.

In the case of young offenders, most cases will be dealt with through a diversionary approach, rather than prosecution. If you would like more information on the Youth Diversion Scheme, please click here.