Out of Court Punishments
Out of court punishments, or Conditional Cautions as
they are better known, is a scheme whereby adult offenders willing
to admit their guilt can rehabilitate their actions.
The scheme is aimed at cases where the public interest would be
met more effectively by offenders carrying out specified conditions
(which are attached to a Caution) rather than being prosecuted.
The conditions must help rehabilitate the offender and/or ensure
that he or she makes reparation for the effects of the offence on
the victim or the wider community. Offenders who fail to comply
with the conditions will usually be prosecuted for the original
offence.
Conditional Cautions do not replace the non-statutory police
caution (now known as the 'Simple Caution'), which continues to be
used in appropriate circumstances.
For the first half of 2010, 92 conditional
cautions have been administered for a variety of
offences:
- 32 Criminal Damage
- 21 Thefts
- 13 Public Order Offences
- 10 Assaults
- 10 Possession of Drugs
- 05 Drunkenness
- 01 Wasting Police Time
Conditions imposed (more than one condition can be
administered to one offender):
- 53 Compensation (more than £9,500 has been
handed back to victims)
- 20 Letters of apology
- 19 Referrals to Drinksense
- 12 Referrals to Drug Intervention
Programme
Conditional Cautions served in Peterborough:
2011
January -
March 2011
April - June
2011
July -
September 2011
October -
December 2011
2010
January
- March 2010
April -
June 2010
July -
September 2010
October
- December 2010
UPDATE: 5 March 2013 A Government minister has
praised Peterborough for helping victims of domestic violence get
justice.
See full press release and video here.
UPDATE: 12 February 2013 There has been a
spate of fires being set in wheelie bins, discarded furniture and
some vehicles, across the city. We have teamed up with other
agencies, including the fire service to tackle this problem. You
can help to prevent these types of offences, by ensuring that
wheelie bins are not left in the street after collection, or if
they are full, kept in a safe place until they can be emptied.
Report any discarded furniture to the local authority so they can
make arrangements to collect it. We are also working with youths
both in and out of schools to educate them about the dangers of
setting fires and asking them to be vigilant when out and about.
Please report any suspicious activity around fires to the Police on
101.