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Community resolution
- General
An informal disposal used at street level or following a custody investigation for minor offending. It involves the officer, with the consent of the victim, resolving the matter through means such as an apology, reparation, or agreed action. A community resolution requires the suspect to admit responsibility and the victim to agree to the outcome.
In practice
Community resolutions are the most informal disposal and leave no formal conviction. They are recorded by the force and may appear in enhanced DBS checks as "other relevant information". They are most commonly used for very minor first-time offending such as low-level theft, minor criminal damage, and neighbour disputes.
Last updated 24 September 2026