39Diversion of youth

39 Diversion of youth (1) This section applies if a police officer believes on reasonable grounds that: (a) a person has committed an offence; and Youth Justice Act 2005 27 (b) the person is a youth or was a youth when the offence was committed. (2) The officer must, instead of charging the youth with the offence, do one or more of the following as the officer considers appropriate: (a) give the youth a verbal warning; (b) give the youth a written warning; (c) cause a Youth Justice Conference involving the youth to be convened; (d) refer the youth to a diversion program. (3) Subsection (2) does not apply if: (a) the youth's whereabouts is unknown; or (b) the alleged offence is a prescribed offence; or (d) the youth has some other history that makes diversion an unsuitable option (including a history of previous diversion or previous convictions). (4) However, the Commissioner of Police (or the Commissioner's delegate) may authorise or require a police officer to deal with a youth by Youth Justice Conference or by referring the youth to a diversion program despite the fact that the case is covered by subsection (3). (6) This section does not prevent the diversion of a youth in relation to an offence with which the youth has been charged.