Adult Conditional Caution Policy
1. Statement of Policy
Dyfed-Powys Police will use the National Conditional Cautioning Code of Practice alongside the Directors Guidance for Adult Conditional Cautions, which provides advice to the police and prosecutors on the use of Conditional Cautions and the selection of appropriate, proportionate and achievable conditions. Conditional Cautions should be used for low level offending.
Applies (but not limited) to: All categories of Dyfed-Powys Police officers and staff, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, temporary (including agency staff, associates and contractors), seconded staff and volunteers. Police Officers, staff and volunteers accessing and using Force assets and property must have due regard to the contents of this policy.
2. Policy Scope
A conditional caution allows an authorised person (usually a police officer) or a relevant prosecutor (usually the CPS) to decide to give a caution with one or more conditions attached. When an offender is given a conditional caution for an offence, criminal proceedings for that offence are halted while the offender is given an opportunity to comply with the conditions. Where the conditions are complied with, the prosecution is not normally commenced. However, where there is no reasonable excuse for non-compliance, criminal proceedings may be commenced for the original offence and the conditional caution will cease to have effect. A conditional caution can be given for one or more offences.
This policy is applicable to:-
- Operational officers
- Volunteers
- Police Supervisors
- Criminal Justice Department
- Crime Data Integrity Unit (CDIU)
3. Powers and Policy/Legal Requirements
Conditional cautions are a statutory disposal introduced for adults by Part 3 of the 2003 Act and came into force in July 2004. The Code of Practice governs the use of conditional cautions.
This Code of Practice was prepared by the Secretary of State for Justice under section 25 Criminal Justice Act 2003 and was published with the consent of the Attorney General following public consultation. It was laid before both Houses of Parliament and comes into force the day after the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Conditional Cautions: Code of Practice) Order 2013 comes into force. It extends to England and Wales. This Code of Practice replaces any earlier versions of the Code of Practice.
4. Options and Contingencies
It is the role of the Custody/Duty Sergeant or Duty Inspector to decide if the offender is suitable for a Conditional Caution and on the one or more conditions to be set.
The Conditional Caution is administered by a Police Officer not below the rank of a Sergeant.
Any Conditional Cautions for possession of knives, bladed articles or offensive weapons must be authorised by an Inspector or above.
A Conditional Caution must not be given for an indictable-only offence, a domestic abuse offence or a hate crime unless it is referred to the CPS who agree that a Conditional Caution should be given.
Please refer to the Adult Conditional Cautioning guidance document which can be located on the CJD Homepage.
All of the new Code of Ethics principles apply to this policy -
- Courage
- Respect and Empathy
- Public Service
5. Take action and review
Scrutiny Panels are held on a quarterly basis and ensure that the police are held accountable for their use of out of court disposals as well as providing assurance that difficult decision to administer such disposals are justified. The findings of scrutiny panels offer an effective feedback mechanism to police for organisational learning and to individual officers for training or development needs as well as identifying examples of good practice.
This policy and the associated procedure document will be monitored to ensure that it is effective, any challenges made and amendments to national policy/guidance.
Any amendments to this policy and the associated procedure document will be implemented via approval of the Criminal Justice Group and the Strategic Criminal Justice, Custody, Intelligence, Investigations, Firearms Licencing and Property Board.
CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it.
HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation.
The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to:
- eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act;
- advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
- foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies.
Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT COMPLETED: June 2024