Escaping Justice: The Alarming Rise of Community Resolutions for Serious Offences

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In recent years, a troubling trend has emerged within the British criminal justice system, one that has sparked growing concern among law enforcement officials, politicians, and the public alike. Increasingly, individuals accused of serious crimes, including knife-related offenses and sexual misconduct, are being let off with community resolutions—essentially a slap on the wrist—if they simply apologize for their actions. This practice, which has seen a significant rise, allows offenders to avoid prosecution and the accompanying criminal record, raising questions about the efficacy and fairness of the justice system.

 

The Telegraph has uncovered that over 147,000 people accused of various crimes, including sexual offenses, violent acts, and weapons possession, were handed community resolutions in the year leading up to March. These resolutions, which are at the discretion of individual police officers, do not result in a criminal record, effectively allowing offenders to escape the traditional consequences of their actions. This marks a sharp increase from previous years, with a 40 percent rise in community resolutions since 2019, when 102,574 such cases were recorded. The alarming trend reveals that community resolutions are now nearly twice as common as criminal charges.

 

Community resolutions were initially intended for minor, low-level crimes, with offenders required to apologize to their victims, accept responsibility for their actions, and offer some form of recompense. However, the significant rise in their use, particularly for more serious offenses, has raised red flags within the criminal justice system. The surge in community resolutions comes at a time when the system is already grappling with a deepening crisis. Prisons are overcrowded to the point that the government is considering releasing thousands of criminals early next month in response to recent riots. Law enforcement officials have expressed concerns that worsening overcrowding could hinder their ability to make arrests, further complicating the situation.

 

Jess Phillips, the Home Office minister responsible for safeguarding, has taken notice of this troubling trend and has ordered a review of the police response to "non-contact" sexual offenses. This issue was brought to the forefront by the inquiry into the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Police Constable Wayne Couzens, who had a history of exposing himself to women. Ms. Phillips emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, "This Government has been clear that violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and we expect police to treat all sexual offenses with the seriousness it warrants."

 

The statistics paint a stark picture of the growing reliance on community resolutions for serious crimes. Since 2019, the number of community resolutions issued for robbery has increased by a staggering 127 percent, rising from 175 cases to 397. The number of resolutions for sex offenses has also seen a significant uptick, increasing by 29 percent from 482 to 621. Offenses involving violence against individuals have seen a 57 percent rise, from 29,188 to 45,845, while those related to weapons possession have jumped by 77 percent, from 1,590 to 2,821. These figures are particularly concerning given the current climate, as knife crime approaches record levels in the UK.

 

The increase in knife crime has prompted leaders like Sir Keir Starmer to vow to halve the incidence of such crimes within a decade. However, recent events, such as the stabbings at the Notting Hill Carnival, highlight the ongoing challenges. Four people were stabbed during the carnival, including a mother who was attending the event with her young child. Police expressed their frustration, with officers stating they had become "tired" of seeing the same scenes repeat themselves year after year.

 

Dame Vera Baird, the former victims' commissioner for England and Wales, who has advised the Labour Party on tackling low charging rates, voiced her concerns about the use of community resolutions for serious offenses. She pointed out that issuing a community resolution for a crime that should be considered serious means that there is no formal record of the offender's criminal behavior. "Police have historically seriously undervalued the potential danger for small sexual offenses which can look like a nuisance that you could laugh at but are very intrusive to women and young men as well," Dame Vera explained.

 

She warned that failing to document such behaviors could allow repeat offenders to escape detection and potentially pose a threat to others. "The real problem is that someone who has a propensity to impose their sexuality on someone else, if they don’t get stopped at the beginning either in terms of some treatment or being given a record, then we have no record that person behaved in that way or any way of keeping a lookout for them to protect other people," she added. Dame Vera also highlighted the risk that offenders could accumulate multiple community resolutions across different areas and still have no official record of their actions. "They could have six community resolutions in different areas because they move around and then apply for a job at a nursery, and there would be no record," she warned.

 

The use of community resolutions for knife offenses is another area of significant concern. Rory Geoghegan, a former adviser to No 10 and a former police officer, expressed his worries about the increase in knife-related crimes and the implications of using community resolutions for such offenses. Knife crime reached record highs in eight police forces in the year leading up to March, with the Metropolitan Police among those affected.

 

The Met recorded 14,961 knife-related offenses, up from the previous high of 14,680 in 2020. The West Midlands also saw a rise in knife crime, with 5,266 offenses recorded, up from 5,192 the previous year. Mr. Geoghegan, who is also the founder of the Public Safety Foundation, stressed the importance of using community resolutions appropriately. "It’s vital that community resolutions are used appropriately. When misused they represent a missed opportunity to bring an offender to justice and to prevent future criminality," he said. He noted that the use of community resolutions for offenses involving weapons possession is particularly concerning given the toll that knife crime has taken on communities across the country.

"The use of community resolutions for offenses involving the possession of a weapon will cause particular concern when we see knife crime exact such a heavy roll on neighborhoods across the country," Mr. Geoghegan said.

 

He praised the efforts of some police forces that have banned or strongly discouraged the use of community resolutions for certain offenses and called for further work to ensure that these resolutions are being used properly. "The fact that some forces ban or strongly discourage the use of community resolutions for some of these offenses should be commended, and there is certainly work to be done to assure the public that they are being used properly," he concluded.

 

The issue of knife crime remains a significant concern, and efforts to combat it continue. On Monday, a new "zombie knife" compensation scheme was launched, offering payments to individuals who hand over their weapons to the police before a ban on such weapons comes into effect on September 24, under legislation passed by the Conservative government.

 

However, the ongoing violence at events like the Notting Hill Carnival underscores the challenges that law enforcement faces in tackling knife crime. It was revealed on Monday that one of the four people stabbed at the carnival was a woman attending the event with her child. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who oversaw the policing operation for the event, expressed his frustration with the recurring violence. "We are tired of seeing crime scenes" at the street party, he said. "We are tired of saying the same words every year. We are tired of telling families that their loved ones are seriously injured, or worse."

 

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has sought to clarify the use of community resolutions, particularly in relation to sex offenses. The NPCC has stated that sex offenses where community resolutions are issued typically involve children sharing inappropriate images or cases of consensual sex between under-aged children. They have emphasized that police guidelines are clear in limiting community resolutions to "low-level" offenses involving weapons, violence, and robbery.

 

Officers are guided by the "gravity matrix," a tool that helps determine whether children should be considered for out-of-court disposals, such as community resolutions. Dr. Alison Heydari, the Police Chiefs' Council lead for Out of Court Resolutions, reiterated this stance, saying, "We have made it clear that out-of-court disposals are not to be used in serious cases. Officers take into consideration all circumstances of a case, with victims’ wishes at the center of our decision-making."

 

The rise in the use of community resolutions for serious offenses raises significant questions about the direction of the criminal justice system in the UK. As the debate continues, it remains to be seen whether these resolutions are truly an effective tool for maintaining public safety or if they are merely allowing offenders to escape justice. The need for a balanced and fair approach to justice is more critical than ever, particularly in a time when public trust in the system is already under strain.

 

Credit: Daily Telegraph 2024-08-28

 

 

 

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[Chomper Higgot]

Well that’s what happens after over a decade of not building the prisons the justice system needs.

 

Right now only 100 prison spaces left.

 

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/27/only-100-spaces-remaining-in-mens-prisons-in-england-and-wales

[JonnyF]

Depends what Demographic you come from. And what your political affiliation is.

 

Britain has a 2 tier justice system. 2 tier policing. 

 

White guy posts anti immigration views on FaceBook from his living room - 3 years jail rushed through the courts in a week.

 

Muslims carry lethal weapons in London - police advise them to drop them off at the mosque.  

 

Pro England rally - police crack heads. Multiple arrests. 

 

Pro Palestine rally - police join in with "from the river to the sea" chant.

 

Imagine if the scenes at the Notting Hill carnival happened at a Patriots march by white guys in England shirts and Union flags. Tommy Robinson twerking a police officer, openly taking drugs etc. He'd have been arrested immediately. It would have been policed totally differently. 2 Tier Britain. Then Yvette Cooper wonders why nobody respects them 😃. 

 

Disclaimer ; I do not like Tommy Robinson, it was just an example - so you'll need a better strawman. 

[Chomper Higgot]

4 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Depends what Demographic you come from. And what your political affiliation is.

 

Britain has a 2 tier justice system. 2 tier policing. 

 

White guy posts anti immigration views on FaceBook from his living room - 3 years jail rushed through the courts in a week.

 

Muslims carry lethal weapons in London - police advise them to drop them off at the mosque.  

 

Pro England rally - police crack heads. Multiple arrests. 

 

Pro Palestine rally - police join in with "from the river to the sea" chant.

 

Imagine if the scenes at the Notting Hill carnival happened at a Patriots march by white guys in England shirts and Union flags. Tommy Robinson twerking a police officer, openly taking drugs etc. He'd have been arrested immediately. It would have been policed totally differently. 2 Tier Britain. Then Yvette Cooper wonders why nobody respects them 😃. 

 

Disclaimer ; I do not like Tommy Robinson, it was just an example - so you'll need a better strawman. 

Oh the seething self stroked grievance of it all.

 

And repeating misrepresentations of court rulings that you have already been corrected on with reference to actual court documents.

[JonnyF]

9 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Oh the seething self stroked grievance of it all.

 

And repeating misrepresentations of court rulings that you have already been corrected on with reference to actual court documents.

 

More gaslighting Chomps. 

 

We've all seen the videos (except you - who refuses to watch them). 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

 

More gaslighting Chomps. 

 

We've all seen the videos (except you - who refuses to watch them). 

You’ve certainly seen the court rulings refuting your misrepresentation of what crimes your martyrs were jailed on.

 

I quoted them at the time in response to your misrepresentation of facts with links to the actual court records.

 

 

[JonnyF]

15 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

You’ve certainly seen the court rulings refuting your misrepresentation of what crimes your martyrs were jailed on.

 

I quoted them at the time in response to your misrepresentation of facts with links to the actual court records.

 

 

 

All you did was point out he pleaded guilty. Which as I provided multiple examples to show, often happens when people are not actually guilty. 

 

We do not have a video of that interrogation, but we do have videos of police being abused at the Notting Hill carnival and doing absolutely nothing. We do have videos of police cracking heads at patriots marches. We do have videos of police singing "from the river to the sea". We do have videos of police telling Muslims to drop weapons off at the mosque.

 

2 Tier Britain. 2 Tier Keir. It's there for all (who wish) to see. 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

 

All you did was point out he pleaded guilty. Which as I provided multiple examples to show, often happens when people are not actually guilty. 

 

We do not have a video of that interrogation, but we do have videos of police being abused at the Notting Hill carnival and doing absolutely nothing. We do have videos of police cracking heads at patriots marches. We do have videos of police singing "from the river to the sea". We do have videos of police telling Muslims to drop weapons off at the mosque.

 

2 Tier Britain. 2 Tier Keir. It's there for all (who wish) to see. 

No that is not all I did.

 

I quoted the actual crimes for the guilty pleas were given and linked the actual court records.

 

Including cases of none white and Muslim criminals convicted and imprisoned.

 

If you assert there was any duress in obtaining the guilty pleas, submitted by those convicted in court and under oath, then it is for you produce evidence to back your claim.
 

You don’t have evidence, you are engaging in misinformation and grievance stroking.

[JonnyF]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

No that is not all I did.

 

I quoted the actual crimes for the guilty pleas were given and linked the actual court records.

 

Including cases of none white and Muslim criminals convicted and imprisoned.

 

If you assert there was any duress in obtaining the guilty pleas, submitted by those convicted in court and under oath, then it is for you produce evidence to back your claim.
 

You don’t have evidence, you are engaging in misinformation and grievance stroking.

 

Maybe you should check what he actually posted on FaceBook. The actual 3 lines of text. 

 

If you think that warrants 3 years in jail, you are either deeply authoritarian in nature, or lying. 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

 

Maybe you should check what he actually posted on FaceBook. The actual 3 lines of text. 

 

If you think that warrants 3 years in jail, you are either deeply authoritarian in nature, or lying. 

I’ll stick with what the court records say, the convict’s plea, his statement that he deleted messages on Facebook, and the court’s records of his conviction and sentencing.

 

Not lay opinion on what laws were/were not broken or how those laws were/were not broken but actual court records.

 

 

[JonnyF]

9 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I’ll stick with what the court records say, the convict’s plea, his statement that he deleted messages on Facebook, and the court’s records of his conviction and sentencing.

 

Not lay opinion on what laws were/were not broken or how those laws were/were not broken but actual court records.

 

 

 

Yes, best to rely on other people's interpretations rather than look at what he actually posted.

 

If you look at what he actually posted, you'd realize you are supporting an abuse of human rights. That might be a bit uncomfortable for you. That might expose your hypocrisy. That might highlight your agenda, your double standards.

 

[Chomper Higgot]

11 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

Yes, best to rely on other people's interpretations rather than look at what he actually posted.

 

If you look at what he actually posted, you'd realize you are supporting an abuse of human rights. That might be a bit uncomfortable for you. That might expose your hypocrisy. That might highlight your agenda, your double standards.

 

No, best rely on the court records and skip your misrepresentation of events that the court has ruled on.

 

 

“Abuse of human rights”

 

Your auto grievance stroking is obviously becoming more of an issue.

 

 

Edited August 28 by Chomper Higgot

[mokwit]

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

Imagine if the scenes at the Notting Hill carnival happened at a Patriots march by white guys in England shirts and Union flags. Tommy Robinson twerking a police officer, openly taking drugs etc. He'd have been arrested immediately. It would have been policed totally differently. 2 Tier Britain. Then Yvette Cooper wonders why nobody respects them 😃. 

I'm still waiting for the mug shots from Notting Hill arrests, the footage of police breaking down their front doors to arrest them, the remanding in custody, the fast tracking through the justice system to Crown Court when most have to wait months, and the judge stating "this calls for an immediate custodial sentence". Come to think of it, I am still waiting for this for Harehills. Keir Sharia made a big thing of burning of property but the footage of someone setting fire to a bus at Harehills  and also a property?] seemingly did not merit a mention.

Edited August 28 by mokwit

[JonnyF]

7 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

No, best rely on the court records and skip your misrepresentation of events that the court has ruled on.

 

 

“Abuse of human rights”

 

Your auto grievance stroking is obviously becoming more of an issue.

 

 

 

Interesting that you support such totalitarian suppression of freedom of speech.

 

It's pretty much liberal fascism at this point. 

 

But you go ahead and put that flag firmly in the ground. 

[JonnyF]

9 minutes ago, mokwit said:

I'm still waiting for the mug shots from Notting Hill arrests, the footage of police breaking down their front doors to arrest them, the remanding in custody, the fast tracking through the justice system to Crown Court when most have to wait months, and the judge stating "this calls for an immediate custodial sentence". Come to think of it, I am still waiting for this for Harehills. Keir Sharia made a big thing of burning of property but the footage of someone setting fire to a bus at Harehills  and also a property?] seemingly did not merit a mention.

 

Not much chance of that, given the people involved. 

 

 

Easier to scroll FaceBook for someone criticizing the government. 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

Easier to scroll FaceBook for someone criticizing the government. 

Was that a confession?

[JonnyF]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Was that a confession?

 

To what crime?

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

To what crime?

To scrolling through facebook looking for reasons to criticize the Government.

 

Social media algorithms feeding you what you react to (AKA reinforcing the biases you already revealed to their monitoring of your use of their platform).

[JonnyF]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

To scrolling through facebook looking for reasons to criticize the Government.

 

I don't use FaceBook for that purpose. And if I did, it would not be a crime, much as you'd like it to be. 

 

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 

Social media algorithms feeding you what you react to (AKA reinforcing the biases you already revealed to their monitoring of your use of their platform).

 

Wow. This is massive news. Are you sure? Groundbreaking stuff Chomps, if this is true you're really gonna blow the lid off the whole thing 😃.

[BusyB]

Remind me please who was in charge the last 14 years ...

 

And remind me who elected them ...

 

The UK has the government it deserves.

[spidermike007]

I think a community associated justice system is a fantastic idea as long as it works, and as long as the community is able to hold people responsible for their actions. Many times crimes fall through the cracks, many times perpetrators get away with serious crimes, and if the community then takes it into their own hands to punish the perpetrator, this can be very beneficial. 

 

I know this is not the intent of the article but I'm just saying.