Jack Straw shows support for Court Not Caution campaign
Justice Secretary Jack Straw has backed calls for attacks on licensees to be dealt with by the courts.
In a letter to National Pubwatch chairman Steve Baker, the former Home Secretary said that attacks on people working in pubs "should never be tolerated".
He was responding to a letter from Baker outlining concerns about the caution system which has been used to deal with some assaults on licensees.
The National Pubwatch Court Not Caution campaign wants perpetrators of such attacks to be dealt with by magistrates or a judge and jury.
In the letter Straw states: "I would like to say how sorry I am to hear about the attacks on licensees that you highlight in your letter.
"I cannot comment on individual cases, but it is clear that assaults on staff working in licensed premises should never be tolerated, and serious assaults should always be result in an offender being prosecuted at court.
"Guidance to the police and Crown Prosecution Service is very clear that simple cautions should not be administered for serious offences, including violent assaults, except in genuinely exceptional circumstances."
Court Not Caution recently received support from Thames Valley Police, with the force deciding to take a more proactive stance on attacks on licensees.
Straw added that the initiative will be included in the Home Office good practice guide when it is next updated.
Straw also outlined details of a review into the cautions system that he announced last year. It will be undertaken by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
