How we help Female Diversionary Scheme Female Out of Court Diversionary Scheme We are delivering a new female Out of Court Diversionary scheme in partnership with Dorset Police and PCC. The scheme works with women who are classified as vulnerably and are at the point of arrest of committing a crime for the first time or have previous criminal record but have not offended in the past 2 years. The women are given a conditional caution and opportunity to work with us rather than their offence progressing to court. Vulnerabilities include mental health problems, women living in coercive or controlling relationships, domestic violence, and committing petty crime to support their family. Women will meet with our specialist worker once a week for 4-6 weeks and are then offered volunteer support with any on-going problems. The scheme launched in April 2019 and offers support for up to 100 women per year. You can read about the results from the pilot scheme here. 93% of women do not reoffend, producing a return on investment of £1.33 for every £1 invested. The scheme was awarded a commendation from the Howard League for Penal Reform community awards, women's section in 2020.