NCJ Number
159529
Journal
Home Office Research Bulletin Issue: 37 Dated: (1995) Pages: 71-76
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes the criminal histories of persons cautioned by British police for a standard list offense (i.e., all indictable offenses and the more serious summary offenses) during three sample weeks in 1985, 1988, and 1991, comprising samples of nearly 3,000 offenders each.
Abstract
In 1985, 81 percent of persons who were cautioned were first offenders; this proportion dropped to 69 percent by 1991. Just over 16 percent of males in the 1991 sample had been cautioned but not previously convicted, and the same ratio had a previous conviction, with or without previous cautions. Females were less likely than males to have a previous criminal history. Very small numbers of offenders had received two or more cautions before the incident under study. The article compares subsequent conviction rates after 1, 2, or 5 years of those cautioned in the three samples and compares the rates according to whether there was no previous criminal history, cautions only, or at least one conviction. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 4 references