http://www.crimeandsociety.org.uk/articles/mplj.html
Rebecca Roberts
"There has been longstanding support for attempts made to divert individuals, particularly young people, from the courts and criminal justice system. These attempts have often been based on the understanding that the criminal justice system criminalises and often harms those drawn into it and for some people Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) are a recent example of this. PNDs do provide an opportunity for dealing with individuals outside the courts, but evidence suggests that they provide greater opportunity for directing more people into the criminal justice system. This article discusses the diversionary aspects of PNDs and argues that an intervention initially presented as a way of diverting individuals from the negative aspects of the criminal justice system is now emerging as punitive and net-widening."
