Deferred prosecution is a slight misnomer since the idea of the programme is never to prosecute – if deferred prosecution is activated it hasn’t worked for that individual. Deferred prosecution was the brainchild of Dr Peter Neyroud, a chief constable turned academic, who felt that the court system was broken. Two police forces – the West Midlands and County Durham – piloted this innovative approach. Those who had committed offences which were serious enough to be prosecuted (who also had to meet other screening criteria) were offered a “deal” – either agree to do a rehabilitation programme or opt to be prosecuted. Those who agree to a deferred prosecution don’t have to admit guilt, but they do have to comply with the programme they are set. If they do, they are allowed to move on with their life, free of a criminal record for that offence but if they don’t, the sword of damacles comes down and they face court.
Last year I attended two presentations on this programme hosted by the Met police and was impressed – the approach is a gamechanger. And could make a huge difference to the court backlog if expanded beyond the pilot areas. Even before the pandemic, the delay from offence to completion in court was getting longer and longer – from 161 days in 2011 to 188 days in 2019. These figures are now shot to pieces due to covid court delays and alleged victims are apparently increasingly refusing to cooperate with the criminal justice process.