We take our wins where we can get them. And so we stand with Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Delroy Chuck in hailing the Child Diversion Programme as a success story for Jamaica.

“I can tell you that the Child Diversion Programme remains one of the ministry’s most progressive interventions, providing children who come into conflict with the law an opportunity for rehabilitation, guidance, and a second chance,” Minister Chuck said while speaking at a ceremony for the presentation of 20 tablets to the Child Diversion Branch by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) at the Courtyard by Marriott in New Kingston last week.

In partnership with UNICEF, efforts have been ongoing to upgrade the operations, monitoring, and data collection mechanisms of the programme.

The Act governing it is currently under review in Parliament and there have been concerns about islandwide awareness of its offerings with questions coming about how it is interpreted by the judiciary.

“…We clearly need a PR [public relations] company to let Jamaicans know about the intricacies…and I must tell you, Members, I’ve had a discussion with my permanent secretary that we must push and elaborate all the different matters that relate to child diversion and other justice services…so that more Jamaicans — the stakeholders, the police officers, the judges — know more about how to refer matters to the child diversion officers,” Chuck told a February meeting of the joint select committee reviewing the Act.

So news that there are, indeed, matters to celebrate should be trumpeted and seized as an opportunity to educate the nation.

Reports have also shared concerns of executive director for Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) Ms Mickel Jackson indicating that awareness remains low, particularly within law enforcement, despite ongoing training efforts.

Word is that approximately 300 policemen and women have received training on child diversion over the last three years, but this remains inadequate.

Operational since 2020, the programme aims to divert children, ages 12 to 17, away from the formal criminal justice system.

Subjects are exposed to counselling, mentorship and structured support to address behavioural challenges with the aim to “actively reshape these children’s life projections”, charged Minister Chuck.

This is transformative work. If would-be convicts are channelled to more positive outcomes, each and every Jamaican — the world at large, even — benefits.

Data obtained through Access to Information reveal that between March 2020 to January 2024 the police made 218 referrals to the diversion programme. As well, the courts made 1,234 referrals over the same period. Though there is an obvious disparity between police and court referrals, these are youngsters being exposed to a new way of being.

What’s more, child protection specialist at UNICEF Ms Marjana Badas tells us that the programme’s success offers a second chance to youngsters who come in conflict with the law, adding that these children often themselves experience violence, neglect, or exclusion.

She noted: “This programme has shown what is possible when a country invests in children. Through assessments, trained professionals, and structured interventions, we are collectively building a pathway that diverts children from the justice system and towards hope.”

And so, while we desire more than the proverbial “one, one cocoa”, we pause to recognise the success of this transformative programme and encourage legislators to speedily improve the regulations that even more can be achieved.