For them, a caution or informal warning administered by the police is sufficient to prevent further offending. A caution can only be administered where the offence is admitted, and it is not a conviction, but it may be mentioned in court if the person appears in court for a subsequent offence. The Government has noted with interest the development, in a number of areas, of caution plus or supported caution schemes. These offer programmes tailored to the individual needs of offenders. For example, the aim of the Milton Keynes Retail Theft Initiative is to work with young offenders to educate them to realise that shop theft is not a victimless crime, to appreciate the consequences of their actions for themselves, the shops and others, and to learn how to resist the temptation to reoffend.
All offenders receive a formal caution on completion of the scheme.
Some schemes of this kind involve an element of reparation. For example, the HALT scheme in the Netherlands is a diversion scheme in which offenders sign agreements admitting their guilt, and pay a fine or undertake some form of community work, such as cleaning up graffiti or repairing damage caused. In some cases victims are compensated. As the report explains, a court-based caution plus offers a number of advantages over existing schemes, not least that if the offender failed to comply with the conditions attached to it he could be returned to court and sentenced for the original offence. Court powers to deal with juvenile crime 20.