Tens of thousands of serious criminals are being let off with just a slap on the wrist because of lazy police officers, a report claims today. Almost one in three crimes is ‘inappropriately’ punished with a police caution or penalty notice, including some that carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, such as rape, MPs say. Some 86,000 offences that could have gone before a Crown Court were dealt with out of court in the year to June 2014, they add. Revelation: Tens of thousands of serious criminals are being let off with just a slap on the wrist because of lazy police officers, a report claims today . The Home Affairs Select Committee points to an ‘alarming’ rise of the caution culture – which grew and peaked under the Labour government – and says this has damaged public confidence in the justice system. The committee’s report concludes that too often, police used cautions as a ‘time-saving tool’ rather than the correct way of tackling an offence. In total, police issued 318,500 of the so-called out-of-court disposals, mostly for minor offences, in 2013-14, down from 660,965 in 2008. Despite ministers insisting cautions are ‘inappropriate’ for serious offences, 70 sexual and violent offenders a week received one in the past four years. Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the committee, said: ‘The inappropriate use of out-of-court disposals to deal with serious offences is unacceptable. ‘It is alarming that they are not being used in the correct way in up to 30 per cent of cases. ‘We cannot allow the misuse of out-of-court disposals in serious cases to continue. The public deserve to feel reassured that their local police forces are not tackling serious crimes with a slap on the wrist.’ Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the committee, said the 'inappropriate use of out-of-court disposals to deal with serious offences unacceptable. The committee also says the use of cautions has resulted in a ‘postcode lottery’. In Gwent, 49 per cent of offences were brought to justice, compared with 26 per cent in West Yorkshire. At the peak, one in ten of all solved cases was dealt with by out-of-court disposals. By last year, it had fallen to fewer than one in 20. The report found that cautions could save the police time and money by cutting bureaucracy, allowing front-line officers to spend more time pounding the beat. Arresting an offender takes almost three hours of police time, and charging someone takes five hours. But too many cautions were being handed out ‘inappropriately’, says the committee. The report welcomes reforms being introduced by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling that will end the caution culture which led to criminals being let off with a warning. Six types of out-of-court disposals will be replaced with just two which are designed to compel offenders to make some form of reparation. Minor criminals will be told they must apologise to victims or repair damage they have caused to prevent a court appearance. More serious offenders will be give a ‘suspended prosecution’, which means they must meet a set of conditions such as paying a fine and going on a rehabilitation course to avoid further punishment. Last year the Mail revealed that 90 rapists have received only a caution since the Coalition came to power. In total, police issued almost 15,000 for offences that would typically result in jail, including 2,279 for sexual assault, 783 for robbery and 11,347 for burglary.
Almost one in three crimes ‘inappropriately’ punished with police caution . 86,000 potential Crown Court offences were dealt with out of court last year . Home Affairs Select Committee points to ‘alarming’ rise of caution culture .