AN EAST Lancashire MP has welcomed plans to scrap police cautions and replace them with a system of suspended prosecutions.

Jack Straw, who represents Blackburn and is a former Labour justice secretary, said he welcomed suspended prosecutions, which he said would ‘fill the gap’ between warnings and prosecutions.

The new approach, which was unveiled by current justice secretary Chris Grayling, is set to be piloted in three counties with the aim of rolling it out nationally in a year’s time.

Mr Straw said: “It is certainly worth looking at.

“There is always a gradation between just a warning which a police officer will issue on the street to a charge and prosecution.

“Cautions were developed to provide an intermediate step, but sometimes they are regarded as letting people off.

“So anything that fills the gap should be considered.”

The new system is designed to simplify the use of out of court disposals, so that the police normally have two remedies available to them.

For more minor offences, they will be able to impose a community resolution, which could include making reparation or paying financial compensation, or for more serious offences a suspended prosecution, where offenders will face court if they fail to comply with the conditions set by the police.

Mr Grayling added: “It isn’t right that criminals who commit lower-level crime can be dealt with by little more than a warning.

“It’s time we put an end to this country’s cautions culture.

“I think every crime should have a consequence, and this change will deliver that.

“Under the new system we are introducing, offenders will face prosecution if they fail to comply with the conditions set by the police, so that no one is allowed to get away with the soft option.”