People stumble across DIVERT when they are at their lowest ebb. When they find themselves in a locked cell in the bowels of a police custody suite, with time to mull over their mistakes, or to confront the direction in which their life is heading. They are vulnerable, scared and alone. Then the “wicket” clicks open in the cell door and there, peering through, is a man wearing a Millwall Football Club tracksuit. Not a policeman reading the riot act, but someone offering hope. Millwall, through the Millwall Community Trust, is one of two football clubs currently delivering this initiative in police custody, having a positive influence on some of the most high risk, challenging and vulnerable young adults in the London Borough of Lewisham. Through the power of the Millwall brand, with the help and support of the Metropolitan Police and the New Era Foundation, individuals are given an opportunity to reflect on their actions, address their problems, and discuss solutions with MCT coaches. From opening doors to training and further education, employment and simple guidance, DIVERT provides young adults with opportunities to progress in life – the kind many will never have been offered before – and a pathway from crime. The statistics demonstrate the impact the scheme has made across the capital. Those running the programme point to almost half of the 800 youngsters with whom they have worked across six London custody suites over the last 12 months having since gone into employment or educational training. The rest have been mentored. Re-arrest rates have been reduced to around 8%. The average for the capital is closer to 27%. Millwall Community Trust have played a significant role in that, with their coaches instigating positive change working in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police in Lewisham. Indeed, by mainstreaming diversion and prevention, policing in itself is reframed as more compassionate and progressive, and less adversarial. Those young adults who engage in DIVERT acknowledge it has given them an opportunity to better themselves. The programme has vetted positions or apprenticeships in production and retail; in education and entertainment; for roles at the club’s training ground, in match day security and hospitality, in the shop; or at local and national firms as varied as James Timpson and DHL. “For them to see us in training gear, rather than police uniforms, is everything,” said Tom Rolt, a custody intervention coach with the Millwall Community Trust. “It just wouldn’t work otherwise. I’m wearing a Millwall top in a Lewisham police station and, when I put down the flap, I could find myself talking to a West Ham fan. Their first reaction might be: ‘Millwall? Nah, mate. I’m not talking to you.’ But it starts a conversation. It breaks the ice. Wear a club’s colours, and they’ll talk football. ‘What on earth are you doing here? Who called you down? You CID?’ No, I’m Millwall. I’m DIVERT.” DIVERT is a Metropolitan Police Service intervention programme aimed at reducing levels of reoffending among young adults and, in Lewisham, uses custody intervention officers from the Millwall Community Trust to carry out the project. The scheme not only seeks to reduce recidivism in the community, but to develop individuals and empower the next generation of adults by guiding them towards holistic support, education, training and employment. It works in parallel with the criminal justice system and tailors the intervention programme according to the judicial circumstances of a particular case, without interfering with the course of justice. That grants DIVERT the ability to work with youngsters while criminal proceedings are on-going. The programme targets detainees between the ages of 18 and 25 – an age group who can feel abandoned by society, often lacking guidance or prospects – and, as is stressed in the initial meeting between a custody intervention officer and the young adult in custody, is anything but a soft option. Rather, it aims to be an intelligent approach to reduce reoffending using proven desistance factors to prevent further criminal behaviour. DIVERT coaches seek to use the time spent with the detainee in police custody as a “teachable moment”, and the first step towards behavioural change. DIVERT is totally voluntary for our young adults and independent of the current police investigation and any subsequent criminal charges. In that context, it says much about its impact that so many seek to pursue their options through the programme. DIVERT is delivered in custody suites by custody intervention coaches, such as Tom Rolt, working for the Millwall Community Trust to young adults aged between 18 and 25. A coach will be alerted by officers in the police station of potential candidates for the programme, and will then introduce himself and spend with the detainee, explaining his or her options and the numerous paths open to them. The aim is to provide a long-term development plan to guide them towards fulfilling their own goals, relating to education, training and employment. The DIVERT custody intervention coaches are not police officers, but give their time with genuine interest in each young adult they meet in police custody in an effort to start a meaningful engagement and effective intervention. All conversations they conduct with their clients are completely confidential. But the fact they are non-judgemental and always ready to listen has seen those in custody relax and open up to impressive effect. “You quickly realise the easiest part of the work is done in police custody,” explained Rolt. “The difficult part is once they’re back out in the community. That’s where we have to use our skills and expertise, our networks, and put these action plans into motion. But when you meet up with them and see what some are going through, you do sit there thinking: ‘Yeah, the least I can do is help them get out this rut.’ If I was in that situation, I’d want a Divert to put his or her arm round me and give me some help.” Since DIVERT expanded from three to six custody suites back in October 2018, Millwall Community Trust, through Tom Rolt, have helped deliver the programme in Lewisham Police Station. They have worked with 94 young adults, aged between 18 and 25, 15 of whom have since gone on to access training and development opportunities first discussed with the MCT coach while in custody, and 28 have now ventured into employment. Another 34 engaged in information and guidance sessions while in custody, while a further 17 young adults have been remanded into custody during this period and have been referred to DIVERT’s project delivery training partners, Bounce Back. The Bounce Back project works in prisons and focuses on training people in construction industry skills with view to them finding employment upon release. Indeed, a number of young adults have reconnected with DIVERT after release from prison, stating that the conversation in police custody had been impactful and stayed with them whilst serving their prison sentence. “Whether it’s been an hour’s consultation, months of diligent follow-up work on the outside, reconnecting with someone when they’ve been remanded and come out of custody… it’s all beneficial,” said Rolt. “We always pride ourselves on the training and employment routes that we open, but there’s a lot of positivity from the IAG sessions where we don’t have follow-ups. The penny drops. Sometimes you see them thinking: ‘These guys are showing me more compassion than anyone has in my life.’”