More than 50,000 drug offenders escape with a ‘slap on the wrist’

A RECORD 130,000 offences resulted in criminals avoiding prosecution through community resolution orders, including more than 50,000 drug offenders who escaped with a “slap on the wrist”, official figures show. The

Ministry of Justice data showed that the “soft justice” orders rose by 25 per cent compared with 2018 and were up 13 per cent year on year.

But the biggest increase was drug offences, with a doubling to 52,000 in the number handed community resolution orders, informal punishments where the offender avoids a criminal record and “resolves” the offence by apologising to the victim or paying them compensation.

The figures will raise fears that drug possession is being decriminalised by the backdoor with increasing numbers of forces also introducing “diversion” schemes where offenders, including those with class A drugs, can avoid prosecution by agreeing to treatment. Community resolutions were originally introduced for low-level offences such as criminal damage, theft and minor assaults but the MOJ figures show a significant proportion are now being used for more serious offences.

Of the 130,000 orders issued, some 31,000 were for offences of violence against the person, 449 were for sex offences, 176 for robbery, 1,404 for possessing weapons and 18,000 for theft.

Community resolutions account for more than half of the offences in which the perpetrator avoids prosecution, while the proportion of crimes resulting in an offender being charged has fallen to a record low of 7 per cent.

Amanda Pinto QC, the Bar Council’s chairman, said: “We had warned against using out-of-court disposals for serious crimes months ago, to avoid sending a message of ‘soft justice’ to potential criminals.” But James Mulholland QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said the orders could avoid criminalising a generation of offenders.