Disclaimer: This is a guest blog and does not represent the views of the Magistrates’ Association. For our views, please check out the report on out-of-court disposals we published in December 2022.
A bit about me
I joined Hampshire Constabulary in 2000, and have undertaken a breadth of roles including as a detective, area commander and Public Order commander, enhanced by secondments to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and teaching at John Jay Exchange College of Criminal Justice, New York. My passions centre on utilising the tenets of procedural justice to build legitimacy in policing, which is reflected in my research, police roles and published papers. I joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 2020 as a frontline policing commander, also responsible for neighbourhood policing across London. I was appointed the National Police Chiefs’ Council Chief Officer Lead for out-of-court resolutions in 2021 and Director for the National Police Race Action Plan in 2023. I am married with two children and my family has been incredibly supportive throughout my police career.
What are out-of-court resolutions?
Out-of-court resolutions (OOCRs) were up until June 2023 known as out-of-court disposals. These terms refer to the outcome a person may receive if they are found to have committed an offence that they do not need to go to court for. These are generally used for those offences that have not caused serious harm, and not usually used for those who repeatedly commit criminal acts. However, while these are considered lower-level offences, it does not mean that we do not appreciate the considerable impact that these crimes may have had on victims and communities. This is one of the reasons that I decided to change the term from disposals to resolutions. I wanted our communities and the broader policing family to understand that we take these outcomes seriously and that they were not simply an afterthought or something that was ‘disposed’ of. Resolving issues outside of the court system can be very powerful for both perpetrators and victims, resulting in the delivery of swift and effective justice for victims and perpetrators.
Why are out-of-court resolutions changing?
The Ministry of Justice undertook a trial many years ago to examine whether the outcomes available for police to deliver should be streamlined and reduced to two outcomes. Because of that, we are looking forward to the proposed implementation of a new statutory framework that will provide two outcomes known as diversionary caution and community caution. There also remains the option of a community resolution. This is currently known as the two-tier+ framework.
The caution outcomes provide an opportunity for policing to approach offending behaviours with diversionary and rehabilitative opportunities as well as reparative outcomes that, for example, might mean someone who has damaged a fence, as part of their conditions, would have to make good the damage they have caused by fixing it or paying for it to be fixed. This requires a huge culture change for policing, to consider diverting someone away from the criminal justice system and be able to address the root causes of their behaviour. Notably, policing has well developed out-of-court established processes for children, but not for adults.
Victims’ and communities’ thoughts and views are essential to the process and could help shape the conditions imposed, which could include compensation. The aims are to reduce re-offending and to deliver justice with fair outcomes for victims, making communities safer and providing better life chances for those who may have committed their first offence. It also hopes to reduce the volume of people that otherwise would be sent to the magistrates’ court and where the outcomes might not provide this rehabilitative approach, nor provide the same level of victim satisfaction including the expedient delivery that an out-of-court resolution might do. It also frees up valuable court time to examine more serious and complex cases. It is hoped that over time, as OOCRs are more firmly embedded across force areas, volumes will rise, therefore reaping these positive benefits to the criminal justice system in reducing volumes allowing for appropriate cases to be heard in a more timely way.
What is a deferred prosecution?
As well as supporting forces across the country to be ready to implement the new framework, I am also driving a piece of work that gives some people who have committed an offence, the opportunity to enter an intensive programme of rehabilitation with a package of conditions and measures that address their offending behaviours, as well as looking at their health and social care needs. If completed successfully, the crime that they committed will not be proceeded with criminally. This means no criminal record and no further action. However, let me reassure you, that these outcomes are not easy, nor a soft option, they require a high level of commitment over a period of approximately 16 to 20 weeks.
The Lammy Report highlighted the great opportunity these schemes present, particularly in addressing the disproportionality that exists in the criminal justice system and giving everyone the opportunity a chance to change. Reassuringly, if any conditions are breached, then prosecution or, in some cases, a caution will be the outcome. Evidence shows that these schemes, if operating well, are effective at reducing future crime harm levels and reoffending (35 per cent less likely), as well as being more cost-effective than sending someone to court. An evaluation of Operation Turning Point revealed that 43 per cent of victims were more satisfied than those whose cases went to court. Victims felt that it was more likely to stop the offender from reoffending, while many were dissatisfied with their experiences in court when cases were dismissed, found not guilty or given a conditional discharge.
I hope to produce a new set of principles that brings the best practice together and provides guidance to forces with those important safeguards in place to ensure offers of this scheme are made in an appropriate way.
What is happening next?
I am waiting for new ministers to decide when to implement the new framework. However, right now I am asking forces to operate a two-outcome approach in readiness for the new legislation. This means that forces are delivering adult conditional cautions now, with community resolution to achieve the outcomes I have described, and some are delivering deferred prosecution schemes.
I feel very positive about the future of out-of-court resolutions and the benefits they can provide to society if policing, with its partners and the voluntary sector, commits to its delivery. Tackling criminality in its very early stages before escalation requires a whole system approach that policing cannot do alone. I also have a big ask of our communities and the wider public to put their trust in us at a time when I know it is very low. We must take the opportunity now to make a difference, and I am fully committed to delivering changes that will see these longer-term benefits and will continue to work towards that shared vision to make our streets, homes and communities safer.
