One in three villains in Essex just get a caution (From Echo)

One in three villains in Essex just get a caution

2:00am Wednesday 17th March 2010 in

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A THIRD of crimes solved by Essex Police are dealt with by way of a caution.

The force is increasingly using cautions, with 13,004 offenders dealt with in this way in the last financial year.

It means that if an offender accepts their guilt they can receive a warning instead of being dragged through the courts. Officers used it for dispensing with 33 per cent of the 39,727 crimes solved in the county last year, according to a report by Essex Police Authority.

The caution is traditionally used for less serious crimes, but is becoming increasingly popular as only 13 per cent were dealt with in this way in April 2003 to April 2004.

Essex Police spokesman Bill Stock said: “Reprimands, warnings and cautions are used to deal with less serious crimes. They are issued under national guidelines and are used where they are considered to be the most appropriate way of dealing with offenders.

“Cautions are only given to people over the age of 18 and reprimands and final warnings are issued to the under-18s. In all cases we refer young people to local youth offending teams to carry out assessments to help them steer away from crime and prevent them from offending again.”

The authority’s report also says a caution can be given for offences such as rape, but only in certain circumstances, for example when a 12-year-old girl has consensual sex with a boyfriend aged 16 with no-one, including extended family, supporting a prosecution.

There were 343 reported rapes between April 2008 and March 2009, which resulted in 62 people being charged, one caution being given and one incident where no further action was taken.