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    Police cautions

    Low-level criminal offending may be dealt with by way of a police caution as an alternative to being formally charged. This option is more commonly used in relation to young offenders (see Formal Police Cautions and Informal Police Cautions) but may be used in relation to adults.

    Police cautions may only be used for minor offences and must be an appropriate sanction for the offence. In addition, an investigation of the matter must have determined that there would be a reasonable chance of conviction if the matter proceeded to court.

    Use of an adult police caution must be approved by a Sergeant.

    Before deciding to proceed with a police caution, police will consider:

    • the offender’s criminal history and whether they are subject to any court orders
    • whether the offender has previously had a police caution
    • what the victim of the crime thinks
    • what the police officers who detected the offence think
    • the offender’s attitude
    • the seriousness of the offence – cautions cannot be issued for serious offences such as major indictable offences, any aggravated offence or offences involving violence against a family member, any sexual offence or drug offence (with the exception of smoking or consuming cannabis).
    Police cautions  :  Last Revised: Tue Mar 4th 2025
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