Cautions for sex crimes and burglary
More than 70 cautions for sex offences have been given out by Beds Police in the past five years.
A caution is usually used for “low-level” offences. But a Freedom of Information request showed forces in the East of England had used cautions for more than 1,000 sex offences, including rapes. They have been also used for burglaries, fraud and child abuse.
A Beds Police spokesman said: “Cautions are only used for serious offences in exceptional circumstances. In the last five years, one caution was used for an historic rape where both victim and offender were children. The decision to caution is made by the Crown Prosecution Service.”