Out of Court Disposals
Community Resolutions & Youth Conditional Cautions
Youth Caution
A Youth Caution is a formal notice, issued by a police officer. Once a young person has admitted an offence, the officer cautions them not to reoffend and warns them of the potential consequences of doing so.
It is used by cases, usually of relatively low-level offending, where it is not in the public interest to prosecute the young person who has offended.
A Youth Caution does not have specific conditions attached to it. It is, however, recorded on the Police national computer (PNC) and forms part of a child's criminal record.
Youth Conditional Caution
A Youth Conditional Caution is similar to a Youth Caution, but in addition has specific conditions attached that the child is required to adhere to, for a period of up to three months. If the child does not comply with these conditions then the police may choose to recommend prosecution.
It is likely to be used in cases where prosecution is not in the public interest but the police consider that specific actions are required to reduce the likelihood of further offending, to protect the specific victim, or where previous out-of-court disposals have not been effective.