The diversion of juveniles from the formal criminal justice system can be justified on the basis of statistics. For example, a Home Office study of juveniles cautioned in 1985 indicated that 87 percent were not convicted of a further offense within 2 years. In contrast, prison statistics showed that 72 percent of juveniles between 14 and 16 years of age who were discharged from detention centers and 81 percent of juveniles aged 15 and 16 years who were discharged from youth custody in 1985 were reconvicted within 2 years. There are several stages during which young offenders can be diverted from the criminal justice process, either by the police acting alone or in consultation with other agencies. In general, European experience with diverting young offenders from prosecution confirms that much offending behavior can be effectively dealt with outside the formal court system. Lessons from the process of diverting young offenders focus on net widening, local variations, monitoring, cautioning plus schemes, limits of diversion, and defining the public interest. Recommendations to promote further progress in dealing with young offenders outside the formal court process concern the legislative status of cautioning, cautioning and charging policies and support for cautioned young people, decisions about individual young offenders, and the citation of cautions in juvenile/youth courts. An appendix lists members and observers of England's National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders. 25 references