- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
Changes to legislation:
Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, Section 17 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 24 November 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to Section 17:
- s. 17 omitted by 2022 c. 32 Sch. 11 para. 37
17Restrictions on use of cautionsE+W
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)This section applies where, in England and Wales, a person aged 18 or over admits that he or she has committed an offence.
(2)If the offence is an indictable-only offence, a constable may not give the person a caution except—
(a)in exceptional circumstances relating to the person or the offence, and
(b)with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
(3)If the offence is an either-way offence specified by order made by the Secretary of State, a constable may not give the person a caution except in exceptional circumstances relating to the person or the offence.
(4)If—
(a)the offence is a summary offence or an either-way offence not specified under subsection (3), and
(b)in the two years before the commission of the offence the person has been convicted of, or cautioned for, a similar offence,
a constable may not give the person a caution except in exceptional circumstances relating to the person, the offence admitted or the previous offence.
(5)It is for a police officer not below a rank specified by order made by the Secretary of State to determine—
(a)whether there are exceptional circumstances for the purposes of subsection (2), (3) or (4), and
(b)whether a previous offence is similar to the offence admitted for the purposes of subsection (4)(b).
(6)A determination under subsection (5) must be made in accordance with guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
(7)The Secretary of State may by order amend this section so as to provide for a different period for the purposes of subsection (4)(b).
(8)For the purposes of this section—
(a)“caution” does not include a conditional caution under Part 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, but
(b)a person has been “cautioned for” an offence if he or she has been given a caution, a conditional caution or a youth caution or youth conditional caution under Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
(9)In this section—
“either-way offence” means an offence triable either way;
“indictable-only offence” means an offence which, if committed by an adult, is triable only on indictment.
(10)This section applies whether the offence admitted was committed before or after the time when this section comes into force.
Commencement Information
I1S. 17 in force at 13.4.2015 by S.I. 2015/778, art. 3, Sch. 1 para. 13
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
You have chosen to open The Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open the Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open Schedules only
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Impact Assessments
Impact Assessments generally accompany all UK Government interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector, civil society organisations and public services. They apply regardless of whether the regulation originates from a domestic or international source and can accompany primary (Acts etc) and secondary legislation (SIs). An Impact Assessment allows those with an interest in the policy area to understand:
- Why the government is proposing to intervene;
- The main options the government is considering, and which one is preferred;
- How and to what extent new policies may impact on them; and,
- The estimated costs and benefits of proposed measures.
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.