Acquittal
A term from the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP), reproduced under the Open Government Licence with a link back to the authoritative source.
Definition
A formal decision that someone is not guilty of a criminal charge.
This definition is drawn from the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice. For the full operational guidance and current wording, read it at source.
Related terms
Absolute discharge
A discharge where no penalty is imposed.
Adversarial
The court sits in independent arbitration between the prosecution and the defence.
Bad character evidence
Evidence of, or a disposition towards, misconduct on the part of the defendant.
Community sentence
A court-imposed sentence combining punishment with community-based activities.
Conditional discharge
A court discharge of an offender, subject to certain conditions.
Custodial sentence
A sentence where the offender is confined to a prison.
Definition reproduced from the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See the source link above for the authoritative, current wording.