The new Metropolitan Police Chief has told Green London Assembly Member Caroline Russell that keeping people out of the criminal justice system is “a no-brainer.”
Ms Russell was questioning Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley at the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee. She asked about Diversion Schemes, which move people caught committing minor offences away from the criminal justice system towards targeted support or treatment. Ms Russell said, “Do you think there are lessons to be learned with places like Thames Valley Police who have done a lot of work with diversion as opposed to criminalisation, for instance for possession of cannabis?”
Met Police Commissioner Rowley responded, “When I was Chief Constable of Surrey… we created something which eventually became community resolutions. This isn’t about being sentimental or soft, this is about evidence, and the evidence is that on certain types of crime where you’ve got the right conditions in terms of the nature of the victim and the offender.”
Rowley said the scheme resulted in, “higher victim satisfaction and lower recidivism,” and added, “frankly if you’ve got both of those things, why wouldn’t you do it?”