Community Accountability Programs Information ... - Ministry of Justice

committed, they then decide how to address the actions of the allegedoffender.If the police believe that an incident warrants charges or authorizedalternative measures, they complete a Report to Crown Counsel (RCC) andsend it to the local Crown counsel. In some cases, however, the police mayexercise their discretion and deal with the situation in a way that does notinvolve Crown counsel and the courts. In effect, the police “divert” theperson away from the criminal justice system, choosing to handle the casethrough a process of informal resolution rather than proceeding withcharges.Informal resolution is used for less serious (Category 3 and 4) criminaloffences. (See Appendix A.) This approach includes actions such as:• Giving the offender an informal warning• Sending a formal caution letter to the offender. In the case of youngoffenders, the letter is also sent to their parents.• Referring the offender to a social, health, educational, or other agency• Facilitating an informal resolution between the victim and the offender• Referring the case to a Community Accountability ProgramFor cases involving youth, the Youth Criminal Justice Act contains manyprovisions that encourage the appropriate use of extrajudicial measures todeal with less serious offences. For example, under Sections 4 and 6 ofthe Act:• Police officers are required to consider using extrajudicial measuresbefore deciding to lay charges against a young person (s. 6).• Extrajudicial measures are presumed to be adequate for first-time, nonviolentyoung offenders (s. 4).• Extrajudicial measures may be used even if the young offender has aprevious record or has been dealt with previously through a restorativejustice process (s. 4).When an offence is dealt with through informal resolution, noformal charges are laid. If the offender does not comply with theterms of the informal resolution process, the Crown has no legalauthority to prosecute the original offence.Guidelines for Working with Victims and Offenders 25