This briefing proposes that the Government takes action to cut crime, reduce demand and improve outcomes for victims by driving forward the use of evidence-led Out of Court Resolutions (OOCRs). As part of that, we recommend the Government adopt a comprehensive, simplified national framework for OOCRs for both adults and children that does not require legislative change. This new national framework would give police and others the clarity and flexibility they have been calling for and would bring coherence to the fragmented landscape of OOCRs, providing a single framework applicable across the youth and adult systems. In conjunction with this, the briefing offers an approach that could be implemented within one to two years and would simplify current practice, provide greater consistency across forces, improve fairness, reduce reoffending and remove unnecessary demand from the courts.
