Most Canadians believe that diversion of accused from the courts in appropriate cases should be the preferred response to at least some types of offences/situations. They also believe that increased use of diversion could make the criminal justice system (CJS) more efficient and effective and could contribute to reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in custody.
What we also found:
Over three quarters (79%) of Canadians believe that diversion could make the Criminal Justice System (CJS) more efficient and 69% believe that diversion could make the system more effective.
Canadians were most likely to select the increased use of diversion as the best solution to reducing the number of Indigenous people in the CJS. This solution was chosen by 55% of Canadians. Half (50%) of Canadians considered this to be the second best way to reduce the number of people with mental health and/or cognitive functioning disabilities in the CJS.