Out of Court Resolutions
Out of Court Resolutions previously known as Out of Court Disposals (“OOCDs”) are a way of concluding criminal investigations without proceeding to a formal court prosecution. They are given to offenders to enable the police to deal proportionately with mainly, but not exclusively, low-level, often first-time offending.
Delivered ethically and legitimately in the right circumstances, Out of Court Resolutions can;
- provide swift and meaningful justice for victims,
- improve victim care and satisfaction,
- address the offending behaviour and criminogenic or other needs of offenders,
- hold offenders accountable for their actions and
- have the potential to reduce re-offending.
Adult Out of Court Resolutions – DEPEND
DEPEND is the Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Out Of Court resolution model for adults which launched on the 1st November 2021. The primary aim is to divert adult offenders away from the Criminal Justice system.
It also hopes to increasing victim satisfaction, reduce reoffending and provide education for the offender by addressing personal issues such as mental health, alcohol or drug abuse. The offender has to engage with the DEPEND caseworkers and complete a needs assessment to be eligible.
Gloucestershire Constabulary utilise the two tier model for Adult Out of Court Resolutions. The two-tier model was the brainchild of DCC Sara Glenn from Hampshire Constabulary in 2017. This model has been implemented by several Police Forces to provide a unified and cohesive way of dealing with Out Of Court Disposals in England and Wales.
From the 1st November 2021 there will only be two options available to when an offence is appropriate to be dealt with outside of the court in Gloucestershire; Community Resolution and Condition Caution
Restorative Justice is still an important part of Out of Court Disposals.
Youth Out of Court Resolutions – Children First
Children First is an approach to youths that is aimed at prevention of further offending. The Children First pathway tries to keep children/young people away from court wherever possible. This stops them receiving a criminal record and means they do not have to go to court.
Children First works with everyone the crime has affected. This does not mean Children First do everything everybody wants; it means they listen to everyone. It is really important that the child/ young person understands how their actions have affected other people. The child/young person needs to admit they did the crime, and take part in the discussions with workers. They need to come to sessions, talk and think about what is being said. If they do not do this, they may have to go back to court and could get a criminal record. If the crime is more serious it will have to go to court and won’t be able to go through Children First.
The outcomes available to the young person following a Joint Decision Making Panel (JDP) are:
- No Further Action
- Community Resolution
- Children First Pathway, e.g drug and substance misuse program, behavioural and anger management classes, Restorative Justice level 2
- Youth Conditional Caution
- Return to officer for charge
There is no criminal record element to the Children First Pathway. The child still has to engage with the Youth Support Team and complete a bespoke program designed to help them from re-offending, this sometimes includes a restorative element with the victim of their crime (if applicable), if they do not engage then they risk being taken to court for the matter being investigated.
Find out more about Children First (adult version).
Find out more about Children First (children and young person version).
Scrutiny
Gloucestershire Constabulary conducts quarterly Out of Court Scrutiny Panel’s. These panel’s aims are to review a selection of out of court disposals, namely cautions and Restorative Justice (RJ) resolutions, for both adults and youths, administered within Gloucestershire. The objective of the panel is to provide the Constabulary with independent feedback to ensure victims are at the forefront of the process for out of court disposals.