This survey is for criminal defence lawyers and accredited representatives and aims to gather data on use of cautions, community resolutions and other diversion and out of court disposals (OOCDs) options in England and Wales. The survey is being conducted by the charity Transform Justice as part of a three-year programme funded by the Lloyds Bank Foundation which aims to promote the effective use of diversion from prosecution.
Responses to this survey are anonymous and the data collected will not be shared with any third parties. We estimate the survey will take around 5 minutes to complete. Please reach the final page to save your responses. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
1. In which of the following police force area(s) do you provide legal assistance and/or representation?
This question requires an answer
2. We are interested in understanding the most common barriers to a suspect receiving an out of court disposal rather than being charged, for summary or either way offences. In your experience, which of the following are the most common barriers to a suspect receiving an out of court disposal? Please rank the options where 1 = most common barrier and 8 = least common barrier. (If you are on a mobile phone/tablet, please drag the options into your preferred order)
3. Evidence indicates that racially minoritised people may be less likely than white defendants to be offered/accept an out of court disposal, and therefore more likely to be prosecuted (possibly due to higher levels of mistrust in the criminal justice system). Does this reflect your experience?
This question requires an answer
4. Where it is likely that the suspect will be convicted in court if prosecuted, what would help lead to more effective use of diversion from prosecution? Please rank from most helpful (1) to least helpful (7)
(If you are on a mobile phone/ tablet, please drag the options into your preferred order)
5. Do you have any other comments about your experience of out of court disposals, including any potential benefits or concerns relating to their use as an alternative to prosecution?
6. Would you be willing to be contacted by Transform Justice to discuss these issues further? If so, please leave your email/mobile below. (This information will not be shared with any third parties and will only be used for the purpose stated above. Giving your email does not in any any way affect the anonymity of your response to the survey)