‘Postcode lottery’ of police use of OoCRs can mean repeat offenders are deemed ‘unworthy’ of alternatives to court

9th March 2026Sarah Gibbons, Contributing Editor, Policing Insight

A report from the Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre is calling for a more consistent police use of out-of-court resolutions (OoCRs) in the UK, after researchers found that the approach was much more likely to be used with young and first-time offenders rather than low-risk repeat offenders, for whom an OoCR could break the cycle of offending; the research also highlights the importance of including those with lived experience in the design of schemes, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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‘Postcode lottery’ of police use of OoCRs can mean repeat offenders are deemed ‘unworthy’ of alternatives to court

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