Since March 2022, IZI has been carrying out the evaluation of the diversion pilot programme on behalf of UNICEF as part of the national juvenile justice reform in Malaysia in Sepang, Port Dickson and Seremban. Our task was to evaluate the two-year experience of the project, which aimed to introduce alternative measures to trial detention for juveniles in conflict with the law into the Malaysian justice system. The concept and practice of diversion in juvenile justice is a frequent solution in different areas of the world, but its impact on juvenile crime as well as measures to integrate diversion with complementary programmes is still an open issue. The evaluation also had to offer recommendations and viable options for the next phase of the programme and its possible extension to other areas of the country.
To do this, we provided a highly specialised team of evaluators and thematic consultants with a strong local knowledge, a mixed-methods approach, and systematised the collected data into a comprehensive report. Deal team were part of IZI’s internal resources: Marco Palmini as Quality Advisor and Enrico Casacchia and Livia Giordano as Research Assistants. To date, after the presentation to key stakeholders at a workshop in Kuala Lampur, we can say that the development and implementation of a pilot programme on diversion in Malaysia reflects a strong involvement of the national authorities and is considered by most stakeholders as a positive solution for young people in conflict with the law.