Fury as 1,000 sex offenders LET OFF after agreeing to take courses under measures first proposed by Labour

NEARLY 1,000 sex offenders were spared prosecution if they signed up for therapy, went to a library or joined educational courses last year, under measures first proposed by David Lammy.

Shock figures show police ­forces across England and Wales used the controversial Outcome 22 to take no further action on 992 reported offences over the 12 months to March.

EPA

Nearly 1,000 sex offenders were spared prosecution under measures first proposed by David Lammy[/caption]

AP

Outcome 22 was introduced by ex-Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who adopted recommendations made by Labour MP David Lammy in a 2017 report[/caption]

The provision, which was brought in to tackle low-level crime by young, first-time offenders, allows cops to halt proceedings if an accused ­person agrees to take courses to “prevent reoffending”.

But we can reveal the disposal tool is being applied to a string of vile crimes, including grooming, flashing, sexual assault and rape, up to four times as often as in 2020.

Last night, the statistics sparked calls for the Government to stop using Outcome 22 over fears the soft-touch punishments make a mockery of law and order.

Former Met detective Peter ­Bleksley said: “With each and every agreement, a victim is cheated of seeing justice in court. There is no way this tool should be used for sex offences — let alone this often.”

Last year’s total for England and Wales is more than triple the 278 sex offences disposed of using the ­measure in the scheme’s first year, after it was introduced in 2019 by the Home Office.

It is just 200 shy of the record 1,167 disposals for sex offenders set in 2022.

And for some serious crimes, including sexual assault on a girl under 13, the rate of Outcome 22 ­resolutions has quadrupled — from 23 to 104 — in just four years.

Accused predators who agree to join diversionary courses do not get a criminal record as they need not formally admit to an offence.

Outcome 22 was introduced by then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who adopted recommendations made by Labour MP David Lammy in a 2017 report about the treatment of minorities in the justice system.

Mr Lammy, now Labour’s Foreign ­Secretary, suggested cops could delay charges and instead focus on the ­rehabilitation of suspects before they had to enter a plea.

Last year’s offenders included 87 alleged rapists and 58 accused flashers, who were all reported to police and faced probes.

But instead of them being charged, cops instead gave them the option to take “educational” courses to discourage reoffending.

Examples of so-called diversionary measures given in a booklet issued by the National Police Chiefs’ ­Council include watching films about the impact of offences on victims.

It also says offenders can channel their energy from crime into ­“something else, such as sports, arts or libraries”.

Our figures show at least 206 victims — 133 girls and 73 boys — were under the age of 13.

That includes 14 alleged crooks probed on suspicion of sexually assaulting girls under 13 in ­Nottinghamshire, who were then let off by the county’s police force.

Victims under 13

And Greater Manchester police issued 24 disposals to suspects probed over alleged sexual activity with children under the age of ­consent.

In Merseyside, 13 accused were put on courses after being investigated for grooming — the most for any force in the country.

Across all sex offences, Essex police used the most diversionary measures, doling out 101 — including nine for alleged rapes.

The intervention tactic is mostly used with teenagers who have committed minor offences, such as petty theft or cannabis possession.

But it has increasingly been used for serious crimes, including sex offences and violent beatings — sparking fears police are failing to properly prosecute offenders.

It was also used 499 times for allegations of having a bladed weapon, 72 times for gun crimes and 4,000 times for assault causing an injury last year.

‘Far too much power’

For all offences, Outcome 22 was applied 24,300 times — 153 per cent higher than the 9,600 given in the scheme’s first year.

Mr Bleksley fumed that cops using diversionary resolutions for sex offences may be abusing their power.

He said: “This measure is overused and, in some cases, abused to prevent people being sent where they should be going — prison — because there is no capacity.

“It’s giving police far too much power. Their job is to gather evidence, arrest people and put cases together for the CPS. They should not be judge, jury and executioner which, essentially, this allows them to do. The punishments must fit the crime.”

Former Tory frontbench MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke called on Labour to reverse the changes proposed by one of Keir Starmer’s most senior Cabinet ministers.

He said: “This is cheating victims, justice and making a mockery of law and order.

Alamy

Alamy

He added: ‘There is no way this tool should be used for sex offences — let alone this often’[/caption]

“At the very minimum, you would expect these people to be put on the sex offenders’ register if they have admitted to an offence. That can be done at a magistrates’ court.

“We need to crack down so that we don’t have a load of offenders running around the streets who are known to the police, because they’ve been dealt with this way but aren’t registered sex offenders.”

Dr Alison Heydari, NPCC lead for Out Of Court Resolutions, said: “Community resolutions and other out-of-court resolutions are only used in a small number of sexual offence cases. They may be typically applied where children share inappropriate images or in cases of sex between under-age children.

“We have made it clear that out- of-court resolutions are not to be used in serious cases. Officers take into consideration all circumstances of a case, with victims’ wishes at the centre of the decision-making.”

SO WHAT IS OUTCOME 22?

THE little-known Outcome 22 allows police forces to let offenders carry out a rehabilitation activity in return for any future charges being dropped.

Crooks must undertake a diversionary, educational or intervention course as a form of punishment – though they avoid getting a criminal record and don’t have to admit any offence.

It was introduced in 2019 to divert more first-time, petty offenders away from clogged-up courts.

A guide issued to police ­forces states it may be used in “low-level sexual offences, where education is provided as a result of the investigation but no formal outcome is given”.

Examples of “interventions” that offenders can receive include family support and housing, drug or benefits help.

And so-called “diversionary” measures include criminals’ energy being put into “sports or libraries” instead of offending.

An Outcome 22 disposal is only recorded after an offender has completed their activity.

Absconders, meanwhile, can be re-arrested and face full criminal proceedings.