Independent Out of Court Scrutiny Panel
What else can you tell me about Out of Court Resolutions used by Staffordshire Police?
Community Resolutions
The most common Out of Court Resolutions (OoCRs) used by Staffordshire Police are Community Resolutions. In 2023 there were 2452 Community Resolutions issued to offenders which accounts for 2.65% of all outcomes in that year.
Community Resolutions can be used for adults or youths and are a non-statutory disposal. They are a method of dealing with an offender for a lower-level crime in a way which is proportionate. Community Resolutions can be offered when the offender accepts responsibility for offending behaviour and, in most cases, where the victim has agreed that they do not want more formal action taken. Community Resolutions can only be given where strict criteria are met.
By encouraging offenders to face up to the impact of their behaviour and to take responsibility for making good any harm caused, a Community Resolution can reduce the likelihood of their reoffending.
The most appropriate offences to warrant a Community Resolution are likely to be criminal damage, low-value theft, minor non-injury assaults and public order offences, however this list is not exhaustive.
Community Resolutions must have appropriate conditions attached, which should be proportionate to both the offence and the circumstances. It is important to note that the conditions of a Community Resolution are voluntary and are not therefore enforceable by the police. This means that where an offender does not comply with the conditions of a Community Resolution, the police are generally unable to take any further action against them.
Community Resolution conditions can include; the offender being referred to local support agencies to address a specific identified need (such as substance misuse or anger management), they can be given advice about their behaviour, be asked to apologise or send a letter of apology to the victim or make some form of reparation such as repairing or paying for any damage or harm done.
Community Resolutions can also include Restorative Justice, which involves direct or indirect communication between the victim and offender of the same incident which could include an informal or formal face to face meeting or an indirect exchange of verbal messages or written statements/questions/letters. Restorative Justice is shown to increase victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending.
Conditional Cautions
The only other OoCR used by Staffordshire Police are Conditional Cautions. In 2023 there were approximately 746 Conditional Cautions issued to offenders (children and adults), which accounts for around 0.80% of all outcomes in that year.
Conditional Cautions are a formal OoCR given to an individual who has fully admitted an offence. The police (a Youth Offending Panel for children) are permitted to make the decision to offer a Conditional Caution for most summary only or either way offences with some exceptions. The disposal enables officers to deal with offenders outside of the formal court system, for cases that would be suitable for prosecution but where the public interest is better served by the offender complying with suitable conditions, which must be rehabilitative, reparative, restrictive and/or punitive. Where, without reasonable excuse, the offender fails to comply with the conditions, a formal prosecution for the original offence may follow (but not always). Conditional Cautions can only be given where strict criteria are met.
Adult Conditional Caution conditions in Staffordshire Police can include:
- Referral to a Substance Misuse Service for initial screening and further intervention where necessary e.g. substance misuse intervention session to understand; the risks and consequences of substance misuse, discuss harm reduction and identify support opportunities
- Referral to a Domestic Perpetrator Course to address building healthy relationships (standard risk)
- Referral to a Veterans Charity to take part in an holistic intervention to address an offender’s needs
- Attendance on a Victim Awareness Course
- Attendance on a responsible dog ownership course
- A health-related referral condition
- Referral to specialist courses which include; Anger Management, Thinking Skills, Emotional Wellbeing, Shoplifting
- Paying compensation to victims
- Giving a written or verbal apology
- Restrictive conditions not to contact a named person or go to a certain location
- Paying a fine to court
Other conditions can include engaging with other services based on the individual needs of those involved. We are continuously looking at the provision of existing and new condition options, so these will vary from time to time, and we hope to expand on these in the near future.
Other OoCR
All other OoCRs are used much less frequently by Staffordshire Police, accounting for around 0.05% of all outcomes in 2023.
How do you use Out of Court Resolutions in Staffordshire Police?
The most common offence types where Staffordshire Police used an OoCR in 2023:
- Assaults (accounting for around 24.3% of all OoCR)
- Drugs offences (accounting for around 20.6% of all OoCR)
- Theft (accounting for around 10.9% of all OoCR)
- Criminal damage and excluding arson (accounting for around 10.0% of all OoCR)
- Public order offences (accounting for around 8.67% of all OoCR)
When can an Out of Court Resolution be used and who makes the decision to administer them?
When considering whether or not to finalise an investigation by way of an OoCR we place the victim directly at the heart of our decision-making process. Our police officers and staff must take all reasonable steps to consult with and obtain the views of the victim on the appropriate outcome to any investigation.
While the victim’s wishes will always be considered very carefully, there are nevertheless strict criteria which must be met before an OoCR or any other outcome disposal can be used. The police (Youth Offending Panel for children) must, amongst other things, consider the seriousness and circumstances of the offence, the available evidence and public interest, the impact of the offence on the victim, the previous offending history of the offender, whether the offence is admitted and the appropriateness of any potential conditions to be attached to the disposal. Therefore, the final decision on whether an OoCR should be used rests with the professional judgement of the police (Youth Offending Panel for children) and/or the Crown Prosecution Service.
How do you ensure that Out of Court Resolutions are used appropriately?
Authorisation and administration of all OoCRs must be completed lawfully, legitimately, ethically and in accordance with local policy and National Guidance. This is key to ensuring crime data accuracy, improving victim satisfaction, maintaining confidence and appropriately addressing offending behaviour.
Through regular scrutiny of outcomes, we seek to ensure that there is appropriate use of OoCRs across the Force so that we and the public can be confident that OoCRs are being applied correctly and consistently.
Supervisors are directly responsible for ensuring that officers under their command use OoCRs appropriately and according to policy and guidance. Many OoCRs also require authorisation from a supervisor of Sergeant or Inspector rank before they can be used.
Additional internal scrutiny around the use of OoCRs is provided by regular dip-sampling of investigations by OoCR Leads and formal checks and audits of outcome disposals carried out by our Governance Planning & Policy Department, Scrutiny Team and Crime Registrar.
We promote the appropriate use of OoCRs through guidance, training and monitoring as well as feedback to individual officers and their supervisors. There is also external oversight of our use of OoCRs by an independent Scrutiny Panel.
What is the Independent OoCR Scrutiny Panel and how does that work?
Managed and facilitated by Staffordshire Police, the OoCR Scrutiny Panel is an independent panel of people comprising of Magistrates’ Bench Chair and Deputy Bench Chairs. A representative from the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners Office (PFCCO), a senior Youth Offending Team representative, the Force Crime Incident Registrar and Force Lead for OoCRs are also represented at meetings of the OoCR Scrutiny Panel.
Members of the OoCR Scrutiny Panel have agreed to engage with the scrutiny of the decisions of Staffordshire Police in dealing with offenders through the use of OoCRs to enhance consistency, transparency and public confidence.
The OoCR Scrutiny Panel meets once every 3 to 4 months to dip-sample a random selection of investigations finalised with an OoCR and to check that local policy and National Guidance has been applied by the officer and/or the decision maker as appropriate to the circumstances of the case. The victim and offender details, together with any other identifiable data is redacted from the information provided to the OoCR Scrutiny Panel.
When considering investigations, the OoCR Scrutiny Panel will assess whether the use of an OoCR was either; appropriate and consistent with local policy and national guidance, appropriate and consistent (with observations) or inappropriate and inconsistent with local policy and national guidance.
The findings of the OoCR Scrutiny Panel will always be retrospective. The results are shared widely and offer an effective feedback mechanism to Staffordshire Police for organisational learning and to individual officers for training or development needs, as well as identifying examples of good practice.