Court Services

Diversion

The Diversion program provides case management and supervision services for offenders who are referred from the Kent County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. These services include but not limited to the following; the collection of diversion fees, and restitution, drug testing, referrals to treatment agencies, and comprehensive monitoring of offender for a minimum of six months.

The Following Criteria is Used for Qualifying Offenders for Diversion:

  • The offender is charged with a Non - Violent offense.
  • The offender has no prior felony convictions, including juvenile adjudications.
  • The offender has no more than two misdemeanor convictions.
  • The offender agrees voluntarily to participate in the program, and must admit to the offense.
  • The total amount of damage for which restitution would be sought does not exceed *$2,000. This amount is to be determined by "market value" rather than "replacement value" and should include all verifiable restitution arising from the offenders criminal act.
    * If restitution over $2000 this must be approved by the Chief Prosecutor.
  • Successful completion of the diversion program will result into the original charge being dismissed.

The Intent of this program is to increase the efficiency of our Criminal Justice System by:

  • Decreasing the number of cases entering the court dockets,thus reducing court backlogs.
  • Decreasing the number of cases presented to probation for pre-sentence investigations, thus allowing them to complete other case investigations in a more timely fashion.
  • Reducing the number of requests for court appointed attorneys, thus saving the county the cost for these services.
  • Increasing potential for collection of restitution to victims by offering offenders the opportunity to avoid a criminal record.
  • Reducing jail overcrowding by virtue of moving incarcerated pretrial detainees through the system faster due to fewer cases on the docket.
  • Reducing the chance for the offender committing future offenses by early intervention and addressing specific need areas.