What are community resolutions and how should they be used?

Community Resolutions are an out of court disposal designed to tackle ‘less serious’ offending and anti-social behaviour.

They are not convictions, do not appear on criminal records and will not be disclosed in a standard DBS check.

In 2015, use started to decline after the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Committee published a report suggesting around 30% of out of court disposals previously recorded may have been inappropriately issued.

• Thousands of community resolutions used to tackle serious offences including rape, trafficking and grooming
• Pros and cons: Victim's family says offenders should be hauled before the court while others say community resolution is a second chance
• Here's how forces in the North-East used the out of court disposal to tackle grave crimes

Issued by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the current Charging and Out of Court Disposals: A National Strategy 2017-2021 incorporates ACPO guidance from 2012 on the recommended use of Community Resolutions.

Guidance suggests:

● Offenders must admit responsibility for the crime

● Victim consent should be sought - but supervisors can grant permission to proceed without it

● Offenders should agree to make amends - through apologies, reparation of damages or other agreements

● Restorative justice techniques can be, but are not always, incorporated in the process

● Agreements between victims and offenders are voluntary and not enforceable by police, “in all but the most exceptional circumstances."

● Forces should use scrutiny panels to regularly review their use of the disposal

● They should not be used for domestic abuse cases involving ‘intimate partners’

The 2012 guidance can be found at the College of Policing's website