PCC Funded Service Helps Offenders Break Free from Crime
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Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews has announced the relaunch of a service designed to resolve crime without involving the courts to successfully rehabilitate offenders.
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PCC has awarded a contract to community support specialist Ingeus to provide an Out of Court Resolution (OOCR) service for eligible adult offenders across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland for the next two years.
OOCRs enable police to deal with low‑level and first‑time offences without resorting to court.
The process offers swift and meaningful justice for victims of crime by ensuring offenders are held accountable for their actions while also ensuring they receive tailored support to reduce their re-offending in the future.
Police can only use OOCRs in limited situations and only when a suspect admits the offence. These include but are not limited to offences of common assault, possession of cannabis and public order offences.
OOCRs may also include voluntary conditions for the offender to comply with such as attending a domestic abuse perpetrator programme or targeted intervention for young people aged 18-25.
In his Police and Crime Plan, the Commissioner has vowed to establish systems that support the Force to use out of court solutions for victims of crime wherever most effective. This approach closely links to the PCC’s focus on prevention and the need to help communities become stronger, more resilient, so they can thrive.
Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthew said: “Court proceedings are not always the most effective way to deal with crime. The use of Out of Court Resolutions can bring swift and satisfactory justice and closure for victims, while also helping offenders to understand the human impact and consequences of their actions, often reducing their motivation to commit further offences.
“This approach focuses on low-risk, first-time offenders, who are more receptive to efforts to change their behaviour to prevent them from becoming habitual criminals.
“It is vital we address the underlying causes of offending rather than continually applying a sticking plaster. It strongly links back to the Peelian principle of success being measured not on the number of arrests and convictions but by the absence of crime.”
Between April and December 2025, 78% of eligible domestic abuse perpetrators completed the CARA (Cautioning and Relationship Abuse) early intervention programme run by Hampton Trust as part of the previous OOCR service while 100% of young people aged 18-25 undertaking the Reflect targeted support course run by Ingeus expressed satisfaction with the intervention.
The service will run until 31st March 2028 with the possibility of a 12-month extension to 31st March 2029.
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