Community Resolutions are aimed at first-time offenders for less serious offences.
Where the offence in question is not serious and appears to be an isolated incident, a Community Resolution offers the offender a ‘second chance’, provided the offender makes amends to the victim.
There are a number of different types of community resolution orders which may be considered suitable, depending on the nature of the offence. These could seek to address:
Rehabilitation – If an offence was committed due to certain factors in an individual’s life, such as substance abuse. Intervention through partner agencies could be offered.
Reparation – made out to the victim of the crime, or indirect reparations which are made out to the wider community.
Warning – which informs them of the impact their crime has had on the victim or community. An Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) needs to be signed when a warning is handed out.
Restorative Justice meeting – arranged by the police and sees the offender meet with the victim to discuss the consequences of the crime and the impact it had. The offender is required to attend and actively engage with the meeting.
Victim awareness course – if they are considered to be downplaying the impact of their behaviour. The aim of these courses is to allow the offender to better understand the harm their behaviour has caused.
While the exact terms of the community resolution order will vary depending on the circumstances surrounding the alleged offence, they may require an offender to take certain actions, such as:
- Apologising to the victim
- Providing compensation to the victim
- Cleaning or rectifying any criminal damage
No Prosecution
If you accept a community resolution that is offered by the police, you will not be prosecuted for an offence you have allegedly committed and will therefore not need to attend court.
Criteria to be met in order to offer a Community Resolution
- the offence must be capable of being proved
- the offender must be identified
- They must admit guilt, i.e. the offender accepts they have committed the offence in question.
- The police must consider the incident to be isolated
- The offender must not have received two prior community resolution orders
- The terms of the order must be positively agreed
The views of the victim will usually be sought before you are offered a community resolution order. Their views will be taken into consideration, but they will not be the determining factor in deciding what the community resolution will involve.
Will a Community resolution show on a DBS Check?
A standard DBS check will not show the community resolution order, but if the type of work you are applying for relates to the committed offence, it might be disclosed in an enhanced check under the ‘relevant information’ section.
They only show on an enhanced check, and that’s if the offender is likely to harm the workforce. For example, when applying for a job involving working with children or vulnerable adults, teaching, healthcare or applying for a shotgun licence.
Basic disclosures show current offences only. Standard and enhanced disclosures show more detail. These checks are done in relation to a specific job title and so a community resolution may show up if it is relevant.
“Other Information” on DBS Checks
The police have a bit more flexibility over what “other information” they list. It is all a bit of a balancing act. On one hand, the police have to protect vulnerable people in society. On the other hand, they also want to give people a second chance and allow them to leave a dodgy past behind them. In general, the police err on the side of giving people a second chance. The only exception to this is when the offence is directly related to the type of job you are applying for, as mentioned above.
Implications of accepting the Community resolution
There are implications when they are imposed.
- They are recorded locally by the relevant police force and can be accessed for intelligence purposes.
- The fact you have been given a community resolution previously can be raised in court if you are charged with another similar offence. Prosecutors are now beginning to apply to admit the fact that someone has had a community resolution in the past as evidence of bad character in subsequent court hearings. A community resolution can also be viewed as an aggravating factor if relevant to a subsequent offence.
- The details of the Community Resolution can appear on Enhanced DBS certificates, if deemed relevant to a particular job. You can read more on this below.
- A community resolution will never be “spent” as it is not a criminal conviction and so is not subject to the rehabilitation of offenders requirements. It will always be there.
Failing to comply with the terms of the CR once you have agreed to one
If an offender fails to comply with the agreed outcome, officers can revert to dealing with the incident through the normal criminal justice process.
It is ultimately your decision whether to agree to the community resolution and sign the paperwork.
If you do say no, you must be aware that the officer then has to decide whether to drop the investigation or prosecute the offence in court.
Legal advice
If in doubt whether you should accept a community resolution, you should seek legal advice.
Care must be taken that a community resolution is appropriate in your particular case, and whether the criteria has been met.
This disposal should not be used by police as a means to resolving a case or complaint, as there are implications for an alleged offender.
There may be situations where the decision is less clear, and it may not be in your best interests to accept a community resolution.
For example, if the main witness is not supportive of police action, or where an individual may have a possible defence to the allegations.
Where the evidence is strong, and the alternative would be a caution or prosecution, a community resolution may be the best outcome.
Young people
Finally, we have had several cases recently where police have attended the school of a young person where there has been an allegation of wrong doing.
That young person has been spoken to without the knowledge of the parents, and with a teacher present. The teacher, having been told that the matter would be dealt with unofficially without charge, and issued the young person with a community resolution.
One particular child, aged 13, was neuro diverse, had processing issues and could not read. He was given a community resolution for threats to kill, and his parents were unaware until it was issued. No reasonable adjustments were made for his additional needs, and it is not known if the attending officer was even aware of them. This community resolution was overturned.
The danger of these “unofficial” chats in a school environment is that the young person is denied due legal process by having the benefit of legal advice from a lawyer who can question the evidence, pre-interview disclosure, an appropriate adult, and the implications of accepting a community resolution being explained to them.
Overturning a community resolution
If you do not agree with a community resolution order decision, you may be able to complain to the Chief Constable or Commissioner of the administering force. You should be aware that community resolutions will only be overturned in exceptional circumstances.
There is no doubt that Community Resolutions are a valuable alternative to formal sanctions (such as Cautions) and often serve to avoid an unnecessary criminal record for minor errors of judgment.
If a police officer is proposing a Community Resolution to resolve a complaint, it’s always important to receive legal advice and to make an informed decision about what is best in the overall circumstances.
Contact our Expert Criminal Defence Solicitors