Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) This section applies if a police officer believes on reasonable grounds that:
(a) a person has committed an offence; and
(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.