Written evidence to be reported to the House

Part of Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:15 pm on 16 October 2007.

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Jan Berry: I think that it can do. We are reasonably supportive of the conditional cautioning system for adults and that has been piloted in several areas. I have to say that it has increased bureaucracy in some of those areas and that needs to be addressed if we are not going to add more paper to the system because papers are flying in all directions.

As far as juveniles are concerned, I think that there needs to be a menu of different sanctions and options with which you can keep young people out of the criminal justice system as much as possible. More importantly, you should focus them in areas where they are going to receive rehabilitation and the support that they need within the community.

I think that a conditional caution provides more opportunities than a severe talking to on one occasion because you can add certain conditions to it, but it does keep that young person out of the court system for a little longer. I do not think that it is suitable for every young person, but it is an option that has been made available to adults and it is an alternative sanction that will keep people out of the courts and therefore speed up other court proceedings. However, I do not think that it is the perfect solution for adults and I do not think that it is the perfect solution for 16 and 17-year-olds either.