A total of 697 crimes over a six month period have been resolved without punishment, figures from Kent Police reveal.

The crimes have been dealt with via community resolution orders (CRO), which are an alternative way of dealing with low-level offences.

This can include minor assaults, theft or criminal damage.

As part of the latest stats, crimes such as arson, stalking and harassment, and other sexual offences were among the serious crimes where community resolution orders were used.

The definition of a CRO

A CRO can involve a simple apology from the perpetrator to the victim, an offer of compensation, or a promise to rectify criminal damage.

It is not a conviction and does not appear on an offender's criminal record or most background checks.

The method is usually used in instances where the offender has no previous convictions, admits to committing the offence and there are mitigating circumstances.

Besides offering speedy resolution and closure to the victim, CROs significantly reduce the bureaucratic workload the police has to deal with.

The data

KentLive obtained information on crimes resolved by a community resolution order through a Freedom of Information request to the police.

The pie chart below illustrates what crimes have been resolved by community resolution orders from January to June of this year.

If you hover over the individual slices, you will be able to see specific numbers for each crime.

Behind the numbers  - what did the crimes actually involve?

CROs usually deal with low-level offences and first time offenders

Among the crimes resolved through a CRO, there were four sexual offences, four race or religious aggravated public fear offences, 18 stalking and harassment offences and 86 violence with injury offences.

Kent Police was able to offer context behind some of these more serious offences.

Other sexual offences

'Other sexual offences' can refer to exposure, voyeurism, or preparatory offences, for example, administering a substance with intent to sexually offend.

Kent Police resolved four 'other sexual offences' through CROs. When asked to provide context, they said that in one instance a man was investigated for indecent exposure after leaving his flat naked on a dare.

He was recorded twice as two members of the public were offended by his actions.

In another instance, a teenager exposed himself to a police officer.

Race or religious aggravated public fear

Kent Police resolved four race or religious aggravated public fear offences through a CRO. In one instance, a man who made a comment was perceived to be racist by another. As he had no previous convictions, his crime was dealt with through community resolution where he apologised to the victim.

In another instance, a child made racist comments to a teacher. The child was permanently excluded from school as a result.


Kent Police resolved 18 'stalking/harassment' offences through a CRO. Given that stalking has led to some heinous crimes and that Kent Police supported a national campaign highlighting how devastating the crime could be to victims, this seemed like a high number, so we asked for context.

They said that many stalking offences were incidents of malicious communication.

In one instance, a shop customer wrote an offensive letter to staff following a dispute, and the owner of the shop did not want the offender to be prosecuted.

There was another case involving an ex-employee of a mental health charity who repeatedly visited the organisation following the dispute. The manager of the charity requested a meeting  with the suspect to resolve their differences.

Violence with injury

Kent Police resolved 86 violence with injury offences through a CRO. When asked for context, they said that this included assaults resulting in minor injuries, such as cuts and bruises, where the victim does not support a prosecution.

For example, there was an incident where a pub customer who was under the influence of alcohol when he struck a member of staff who refused to serve him.

What do the police say?

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Bidmead of Kent Police's Victim Justice team believes community resolution can be used to educate young offenders rather than criminalising them

Det Ch Insp Andy Bidmead of Kent Police’s victim justice team said: "We place victims at the heart of everything we do and their views are always taken into account when considering how best to resolve a criminal offence.

"This can often result in the offender apologising to the victim for their actions or making amends in other ways.

"It is also important to note that many of the offences dealt with by way of community resolution are committed by young people, where educating them about their actions is often deemed more appropriate than criminalising them.

"We adhere to national guidance around the use of community resolution, which has a proven track record of helping to reduce re-offending and keeping young people in particular out of the criminal justice system."

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