Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office memos obtained by a Fox News reporter show several felonies — including sexual battery and grand theft — would still be eligible for the newly implemented Restorative Enhanced Diversion for Youth (REDY) program.
The program is designed to address ''racial disparity within the criminal legal system and mass incarceration by diverting young people, whose brains are still developing, away from jails and prisons, increasing their likelihood for rehabilitation instead of recidivism.''
In a Twitter post Friday, Los Angeles-based reporter Bill Melugin published a leaked memo from the office outlining the criteria to be used to divert juvenile offenders into the program.
According to the memo, juvenile offenders suspected of committing some felonies, including burglary, assault without guns or excessive injury, vehicle thefts, strong-arm robberies without the use of a gun, grand theft person, sexual battery and arson, would be eligible for the diversion program.
Cases involving homicide, attempted homicide, forcible sexual assault or attempted forced sexual assault are excluded, according to the memo.
Other exclusions from the program include the juvenile committing an act of violence while in the program, using a gun, a case where the victim suffered a great bodily injury, an offense committed while the juvenile is on probation or already has a felony predisposition petition, there is no identifiable impacted or harmed victim, or there is not enough evidence to file a case if the diversion is not granted, the memo said.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said when he announced the program in a press release last month that it would ''help repair the immense harm that criminal behavior inflicts on our community by giving crime victims the opportunity to actively participate in the restorative justice process.''
According to the release, the program relates only to nondetained juveniles under 18 years of age and would allow eligible candidates to avoid criminal charges by participating in an ''individually tailored program designed to address the underlying issues that contribute to criminal behavior, such as mental health needs or substance use.''
The pilot program also gives victims a voice in determining the proper ''restitution and resolution'' of the crimes because they are usually not allowed in juvenile court proceedings.
''YDD is excited to be collaborating with the District Attorney and service providers Centinela Youth Services and the California Conference for Equality and Justice to expand opportunities for young people to be connected with services that support their development while offering opportunities to take accountability for their actions through a process that also supports those who have been hurt and their needs,'' Refugio Valle, director of the Los Angeles County Office of Diversion & Reentry's Division of Youth Diversion and Development, said in the release.
''Supporting youth development and healing is a key to increasing public safety.''
According to the release, ''Community-based service providers will assess participants, connect them to immediate needs services, prepare them for restorative justice conferences with crime victims and monitor the completion of the agreed-upon terms of their program.''
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.