FOI 484/25
REQUEST
Could I have a copy of your policy surrounding how police identity and what information must be given to the accused. I.e. badge numbers , notifying of recording ( body cameras) and crime reference numbers to identify the case.
Clarification.
SWP: Could you please clarify that by ‘accused’ you mean someone that has been charged and will go through the Court process?
Applicant: I mean I regards to the initial contact and what process needs to be followed when issuing an RJ.
SWP: What do you mean by ‘initial contact’. Do you mean at the point of arrest or at the point of the RJ being administered?
Applicant: I mean from the first point of contact to the end when the RJ is issued please.
RESPONSE
We can confirm that there is no specific policy held by South Wales Police in relation to the information you have requested.
Under Section 16 our duty to advise and assist, we can provide the below information we hold that may assist you.
We have consulted with our Force Lead in Restorative Justice (RJ) who has provided the following information in relation to your request.
Please see the below extract from our Restorative Justice Operational Guidance which may assist you with your request.
Consideration for a Restorative Justice Disposal must be progressed in the following order:
- a) Suitability of the offence
- b) Suitability of the offender
- c) Victim agreement
Suitability of Offence:
Officers should apply the National Decision Model (NDM) in their decision making. Consideration
should only be given to the use of RJ when:-
- It is clear that a crime or incident has occurred;
-
- The offender accepts responsibility for the offence and agrees to participate and is capable of
understanding the situation and process;
- The offender does not have not relevant offending history – if an offender has previous convictions
or RJ outcomes but the officer feels that this is the most appropriate outcome (due to irrelevance
of previous offending or timescales since last offence) it is recommended they refer the case to a
supervisor for a second opinion and record the decisions made.
- The victim has been consulted and consent sought. In certain cases RJ may be appropriate without
victim consent, or in the absence of an identifiable victim (e.g. drugs or public order), but in
circumstances where victim consent is not secured it is recommended that a supervisor is
consulted and the officer should make a record of the rationale behind the decision;
- It is a less serious offence – ‘Less Serious’ is not nationally defined but should be determined on a
case by case basis taking into consideration the following;
o The type of offence;
o The offender’s previous record;
o The circumstances of the offence. (The classification of the offence may appear serious
although the circumstances may be less so and a Community Resolution still be appropriate);
o Risk to the public and community confidence in the police;
o Likely penalty; and
o Whether CR is appropriate given the circumstances of the offence.
We also consulted with our Learning & Development department who have provided the below information.
South Wales Police adopted Restorative Approaches in 2016 using the guidance from the Restorative Justice Council** issued at that time and a training programme to upskill staff was introduced aimed at upskilling operational practitioners.
There are also current developments to increase the training capacity aimed at upskilling Neighbourhood Officers Teams. All new student officers and PCSO’s have awareness training on Restorative Approaches for use on low level offences and there are some officers trained to a higher level who can deal with conferences and mediation
Training is delivered both face to face and using online training provided under licence by the College of Policing
Under Section 15 of the Offender Rehabilitation Act (ORA 2014)Restorative Approaches can be used for all low level offences (with the exception in South Wales Police, Domestic Abuse) and involves the voluntary agreement of the victim and offender to participate in the process and agree as a solution.
There are many different aspects to Restorative Justice.
** Full Details of the guidance issued on Restorative Justice can be found using the below link: