Youth Diversion Programme: Garda heads must roll, but how many?

Shortcomings in the Garda’s Youth Diversion Programme (YDP) — designed to keep at-risk juveniles out of trouble, and the public safer — were revealed last month, when an internal review of the system came to an alarming conclusion: Some 3,500 juveniles responsible for almost 7,900 crimes over an eight-year period starting in 2010 escaped prosecution.

While many of the crimes can be rated as minor, others were far from petty; they included serious sexual offences, aggravated burglary, and homicide threats.