Police unit secures hundreds of voluntary admissions

The offenders' admissions are taking into account during their sentencing at court such as Ipswich Crown Court

A dedicated police unit helped obtain 453 voluntary offence admissions from 76 offenders in 2023.

Suffolk Police's Operation Converter team works with individuals who have a history of offending.

It intervenes where an offender wishes to voluntarily admit further similar offences, and these are then taken into consideration during sentencing at court.

Det Insp Greg Moore, who leads the unit, said the main thing was "securing a resolution for the victim".

"They get peace of mind that an offender has been caught and brought to justice," he added.

“It also benefits the offender as they have a clean slate when released from prison, without the possibility they will later be traced for a further offence, giving them the opportunity to rehabilitate."

Suffolk's PCC Tim Passmore said the operation helped increase public confidence

Of last year's 453 offences - that came from offenders who were on remand, on bail or under investigation - 223 were theft from shops while 102 were burglary.

Other offences included theft from and of motor vehicles, making off without payment, drug offences, criminal damage and fraud.

According to the police force, the process where the admissions are taken into account can only be used where a defendant has already been charged for a crime of a similar nature and entered a guilty plea.

Police and crime commissioner Tim Passmore said the overall aim of the operation was "victim satisfaction".

"What better way to achieve this than to be able to tell a victim that someone has been punished for their crime," he added.

"This, in turn, increases public confidence, offender rehabilitation, property recovery and crime reduction."