Serious criminals avoid court with apology
POLICE are letting off record numbers of offenders with an apology amid concerns officers could be bogged down for months by court delays, figures show.
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) data reveal nearly 140,000 people accused of offences including violence, sex crimes, possession of weapons and theft have avoided prosecution and have been issued with community resolutions that do not result in a criminal record.
Prosecution fell by 14 per cent in the year to June but the number of resolutions handed to offenders rose by 8 per cent from 128,600 to 138,900. They account for nearly 10 per cent of all offences in the criminal justice system and it represents a 36 per cent rise on 2018.
Offenders handed community resolutions agree to say sorry face to face to those they have wronged and may be ordered to pay compensation or carry out a reparation. But they avoid a criminal record as they are not taken to court and do not receive a police caution.
Although they are designed for “minor” offences, the MOJ data show that a record 41,301 offences of violence against a person in the year to June resulted in police officers giving the offender a community resolution, up 12 per cent on the previous year’s 36,366.
The number of theft offences given community resolutions also rose by nearly 20 per cent, from 12,434 to 14,868, while even sex crimes increased by 50 per cent from 431 to 644, possession of weapons by 30 per cent from 1,501 to 1,985 and robbery by 52 per cent from 186 to 385.
A senior legal source said: “There is a [sense] between police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that the delays from the tier of theft up to less serious but still violent crimes are taking a disproportionately long time.
“Vital witnesses may drop out. There is also the worry about whether it adds to the cost when police are in short supply and may need to concentrate on more serious crimes. The other consideration is the huge waste of police time and money if they turn up at court and then the case is postponed.”
A senior police officer said court delays were “certainly a part” of opting for community resolutions.
“We’re aware of huge backlogs that started during Covid and have only got worse with [the barristers’] industrial action and the shortage of court staff.”