The term out-of-court disposal refers to the different ways of resolving a situation without going to court. They can be either informal (non-statutory) or formal (statutory) and dont involve a decision made through a court process.
Formal out-of-court disposal options are:
- Youth Caution
- Youth Conditional Caution
These disposals will be recorded on police systems under the following outcome codes:
- Youth Caution (Outcome 2)
- Youth Conditional Caution (Outcome 2)
Formal options result in entry into the youth justice system and in relevant cases the child becoming a first time entrant (FTE).
The legislation for these disposals is set out in Chapter 7 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Formal out-of-court disposals should not be routinely used with children committing first time and less serious offences. Their use should be reserved for children who would otherwise receive a court sentence. This is to ensure that all responses to children that offend are aimed towards achieving the lowest possible level of criminal justice intervention, appropriate in the circumstances.
Informal out-of-court disposal options include:
These disposals will be recorded on police systems under the following outcome codes:
- Community Resolution (Outcome 8)
- no further action
- (Outcome 22) - used when diversionary, educational or intervention activity has been undertaken and it is not in the public interest to take any further action.
- (Outcome 21) - used when further investigation, that could provide sufficient evidence for charge, is not in the public interest (includes dealing with non-abusive sexting offences without criminalising children)
- (Outcome 20) used where action resulting from a crime has been undertaken by another agency or body other than the police, subject to the victim being made aware of the action being taken.
- Deferred Prosecution/Deferred Caution (Outcome 22)- used when a prosecution or caution is put on hold until a diversionary activity is undertaken within a specified period of time.
Informal options do not result in formal entry to the youth justice system and the child will not get a criminal record. However, formation about the offence will still be kept on local police databases and therefore could be disclosed on enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks.
The police use other no further action outcome codes, but those listed above are considered specific to diversion work.
Further information please see Definitions for Prevention and Diversion - Youth Justice Board (2021)
Youth justice services (YJSs) may use different terms locally to describe their diversion work. It is important to ensure there is clarity on the type of informal out-of-court disposal issued to a child and the corresponding police outcome code used to record this on police systems. This is to support accurate data-recording in YJS case management systems.
The recording of all YJS diversion work is now mandatory under the YJBs Data Recording Requirements 2023/24
The standards for children in the youth justice system (2019) state that point-of-arrest diversion should be evident as a distinct and substantially different response to formal out-of-court disposals. Point-of-arrest youth diversion refers to informal out-of-court disposals. This offers a constructive alternative to the formal processing of children through the youth justice system.
All out-of-court disposals should be:
- collaborative and involve children/parents carers
- constructive and future-focused
- built on supportive relationships that empower children to fulfil their potential and make positive contributions to society
- child-focused, developmentally-informed and should acknowledge structural barriers
- used to minimise stigma from contact with the system
