To tell you never to accept a caution?

[brasty]

Or at least not without legal advice.

The police often offer cautions in cases where they know there is not enough evidence to secure a conviction. So if you refuse a caution in these cases, the case will simply be dropped. The caution is offered so that the police can officially say the crime has been cleared and dealt with. But many people accept cautions when they are innocent, because of fear of going to court.

Essentially there should never be a situation where someone is 'offered' a caution, refuses it and then receives no further action.

Please explain my situation then

Essentially there should never be a situation where someone is 'offered' a caution, refuses it and then receives no further action. If there was sufficient evidence to caution then there is sufficient to charge to court.

It happens all the time.

For now, we don't live in a totalitarian state, so there is a difference in approach from the police, and the CPS each of which may have different policies in place, given then local communities needs.

So it's entirely possible (and has happened) that an offence the police feel they need to "do something about" is not quite the same priority as the CPS views.

And, unless and until they both have infinite budgets, that's the way it is going to stay. We get the laws we can afford.

"if someone is charged then they will appear at court. "

Florene - rape cases often don't go to court though do they because of insufficient evidence. (I realise that suspected rapists don't get cautions anyway).

Did you see the example above of the woman who forwarded her own excel spreadsheet to herself. I can't believe that would have ever made it to court, yet she got cautioned for it.

And some of us don't get the justice we can't afford.

Sure they do Gwen
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/09/greater-manchester-police-gave-slap-on-the-wrist-cautions-for-rapes

Guaranteed a black or brown person receiving a caution doesn’t get it dropped if they reject it. Suggesting otherwise based on one white woman’s experience is wrong. Often accepting a caution when innocent is the only way for poc to stay out of prison.

Often accepting a caution when innocent is the only way for poc to stay out of prison.

Bullshit.

Guaranteed a black or brown person receiving a caution doesn’t get it dropped if they reject it. Suggesting otherwise based on one white woman’s experience is wrong

IME relying on anecdotes is rarely the right thing to do when looking at the bigger picture; they rarely "guarantee" anything, no matter what shade the teller happens to be

Tammy,

The cautions for rape are done in VERY rare circumstances. It happens when the victim does not want to go to court and in order to get the conviction the victim would have to be forced to give evidence. Which is in nobody’s interests. By giving the caution rather than dropping the case it is recorded as an offence and can be used as evidence of bad character if the offender does it again. It also means they can be but on the sex offenders register which wouldn’t happen if the case was dropped. This is done with the full knowledge of the victim. CPS and the decision is made by a high ranking detective not a frontline cop.

Regardless, cautions for sex offenders do happen.

Yep, just said that and explained why. Your point is......?

Wow Tammy, I had no idea.

They wanted to give me one about 10 years ago for not carrying my dog on the escalator!!!!!
I had a havanese which I picked up and a staffie ( which for obvious reasons I didn’t).
They started picking on me and I thought they were joking. Carry two dogs when one is 5kg and the other is 25kg.
Everyone was gobsmacked when I received the letter about the caution. Initially I didn’t know I didn’t have to accept it. We ended up talking to the officer whose name was on the letter,only to find out he didn’t even know about it as signiture got ‘PP-d’. Even he thought the officer was a jobsworth.
Show me a court that wants to waste time on this. Sad really, that they had time for this but never actually came out when we got burgled.

The cautions for rape are done in VERY rare circumstances. It happens when the victim does not want to go to court and in order to get the conviction the victim would have to be forced to give evidence.

And if the accused refuses to accept the caution ?