Offenders are being ‘gifted a free pass’ as punishments that don’t involve a criminal record increase markedly
Almost half of the crimes solved by police result in no charge against the offender, an analysis by The Telegraph has found.
Home Office figures show that the proportion of solved crimes that result in a charge have fallen from 63.7 per cent in 2015/16 – when the data were first recorded – to 51.8 per cent in 2022/23.
The no-charge offences include those where an offender has been identified but are instead handed an alternative out-of-court sanction such as a community resolution, caution or fine.
These usually mean that the identified offender avoids a criminal record.