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AIBU?

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Original poster

To tell you never to accept a caution?

414 replies

brasty · 19/11/2017 13:42

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.

OP posts:
wanderings · 19/11/2017 18:32

I don't have first hand experience or any insider knowledge here, but I imagine it's very easy to present a caution as the easy option, especially if it's less paperwork for the police. The choice could be presented as follows, to someone has been stewing in a cell for a few hours, and simply wants to get home. (Disclaimer: no insider knowledge, I don't know how real this could be, but it's what I imagine could happen, etc)

  1. Accept a caution, we'll give you a lift home, you'll hear no more about it. The car's ready, just have a quick read of this (long term consequences of a caution buried in the small print) and sign here. You've already said (a few hours ago) you don't want a solicitor.
  1. You want to go to court? That's your right, but you're very likely to be prosecuted, the penalties will be much greater than if you accept a caution now, you could be sentenced to months. If you go down that route, we'll have to keep you in overnight because my superior (not on duty at 2am) has to be present to formally charge you (probably not true). You could be summonsed to court at any moment, when you're charged you won't be able to keep working. Because you're refusing a caution the magistrate will see that you're not willing to co-operate with the authorities, so they're more likely to throw the book at you. We've interviewed your accomplices, they've told us everything (when they haven't), they've owned up, you might as well too, we know exactly what happened that night...

The unbelievable truth.

Bubblebubblepop · 19/11/2017 18:33

Division- the first time I went on holiday with my black best friend it was er, enlightening. Her airport experience was totally alien to me.

user1492877024 · 19/11/2017 18:33

I honestly don't want to be thought as a GF so will bow out now. I'm afraid that I don't agree with the majority of posters on here that most of our police officers are bent and racists. Good night all.

Bubblebubblepop · 19/11/2017 18:34

I love it when people make something up then post a passive aggressive and I'm going now byeeeeee Grin it's both infuriating and pathetic

AnUtterIdiot · 19/11/2017 18:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LineysRum · 19/11/2017 18:37

Fair enough, AnUtterIdiot.

It's flounced anyway, with its madbot UserNumber name and unfeasible misplaced sense of indignation.

LineysRum · 19/11/2017 18:38

unfeasibly

Grumpyfrog · 19/11/2017 18:38

No, but once the car is stopped a policeman can "smell" whatever they like to invent have a reason to search the car.

No they can't. "Smell" isn't a reason to stop search any more. All stop searches are now recorded on BWV, and are under the most intense scrutiny.

Personally I don't bother any more. I live no where near the area I police. It's not my house which is being burgled. It's extremely unlikely my children will be the victim of knife crime. I don't leave valuables in the car. I won't stop search any more full stop. Completely avoids malicious complaints.

Grumpyfrog · 19/11/2017 18:42

The unbelievable truth.

About a fictitious situation, that you have entirely made up, with absolutely no experience whatsoever. But hey, it's what you imagine could happen.

Jesus wept.

LineysRum · 19/11/2017 18:44

Grumpy, if you're a police officer that 'doesn't bother' any more, I think that kind of shows the system's a bit broke?

GlossyShine · 19/11/2017 18:48

Try living abroad (in a non-white country) and then saying there is such as thing as white privilege @Hellomaryimback

Grumpyfrog · 19/11/2017 18:50

No lineys, I'm specifically talking about searches. I care, I truly really do but stop search? Nope. Won't do it. The public doesn't want it. The politicians play with it and the top brass are terrified of it. Even though it's 100% needed to prevent crime.

bridgetjones1 · 19/11/2017 18:51

I’ve always thought previously that police didn’t caution you or go after you unless you had broken the law.

Recently a friend has been involved in a total witch hunt which nearly resulted in her going to court on a trumped up charge.

I don’t want to go into too many details but the incident involved a road traffic incident. The injured party was speeding heavily around a corner. Car pulled out but due to other vehicle going so fast a collision was unavoidable. My friend was not injured but the other party was and ended up in hospital for a few weeks.

There were no witnesses but my friend reported how fast the other vehicle was going. She had her car impounded but told this was just a formality.

6 months of hell followed. Luckily friend had a very good lawyer who told her to stick to the facts and not admit anything.

After months of very little contact the police announced they were charging her with driving with undue care & attention. Pressure was put on my friend to admit the charges but followed advice & said nothing.

A week before the court case was due to start friend got a call to say that driver had tested positive for drugs (the police must have known this 6 months previous), had no licence or insurance and the “independent” expert who ruled that the other vehicle was travelling no more than 60mph was now having doubts about his findings!!!!

All charges were dropped but my friend went through hell. Of course she didn’t want to see the other party injured but she was in no way responsible for what happened. If she had followed the polices advice she would now have a criminal record.

picklemepopcorn · 19/11/2017 18:55

This is interesting! Haven’t rtft but will come back for it.

Vitalogy · 19/11/2017 19:00

Thanks OP, I'll file that away and hopefully never have to use it, but you never know!

DivisionBelle · 19/11/2017 19:17

It is our teens who most need to know this.

If they aren’t aware of what a caution is, what their rights are, if accepting a caution looks like a good way to avoid your parents finding out.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 19/11/2017 19:35

"We've interviewed your accomplices, they've told us everything (when they haven't), they've owned up, you might as well too, we know exactly what happened that night"

Interesting that you were accused of making this up, as it's the same kind of thing the "Ways and Means Act"-ers were bragging about, as in my post above - except they added a titillating (and untruthful) detail about the injured lady in the case having died to beef it up a bit

No doubt I'll be told I'm lying too ...

stillvicarinatutu · 19/11/2017 19:42

Juveniles have to have an appropriate adult for interviews and no teen would get a caution without their parents finding out.

A caution is just a means of disposal. It’s no skin off my nose if you want your day in court. Cautions aren’t handed out like sweeties. If you are eligible for one, and you’ve committed and admitted an offence it’s just another means of dealing with you. For me, if you want to go to court then fine. File in, job done. Cops don’t even get notified of the outcome 80% of the time and probably have 30 other crimes to investigate so really, aren’t that bothered. Take a caution or don’t and have your day in court.

DiegoMadonna · 19/11/2017 19:45

It’s no skin off my nose if you want your day in court

Cops ... really, aren’t that bothered

I don't think a single person on this thread has said anything at all to imply the individual police officer should care. It's not all about you, you know.

stillvicarinatutu · 19/11/2017 20:00

I care for the victims of crime and try to get a good outcome for them. I’m not bothered if little Jonny had a go at shoplifting and e cig. There are lots of options. I like restorative justice better than a caution in those kinds of scenarios. It’s about common sense. Thankfully I don’t think anyone I know would press gang someone into a caution that’s dubious. They are for certain circumstances if an offence is admitted. If you don’t admit it you won’t be getting a caution and they are given only on an inspectors authority anyway, punishment has to fit the crime.

Protectingmydaughterfromfilth · 19/11/2017 20:02

Oh great....

I was wrongly accused of harassment by an ex who was harassing ME! I was arrested, evidence proved he was harassing me (call records etc) so I was offered an ‘Informal Caution’
I was told if I didn’t accept it, we’d have to go to Court. Which I really didn’t want.

So I have a Criminal Record now? Fucks sake

stillvicarinatutu · 19/11/2017 20:08

Informal suggests not a formal caution more words of advice but check.

stillvicarinatutu · 19/11/2017 20:28

Also a caution isn’t a conviction tho as others said it may be notifiable for some professions.

ToadsforJustice · 19/11/2017 21:26

A caution is a conviction. You have admitted an offence. You have a criminal record. Your caution appears on PNC.

MancLife · 19/11/2017 21:48

For those of you who have previously accepted a caution that you feel was issued unfairly go and see a solicitor and seek to have it overturned.

Something else being missed here is the fact a caution has to be issued/authorised by an inspector so isn’t the officer dealings decision.

I also think some people don’t understand what constitutes a criminal offence. People then think they’ve been given a caution whilst still thinking they’re innocent