Assisting Offender Debriefing
Covert Policing — Authorised Professional Practice
Summary
This page provides guidance on the process of assisting offender debriefing, a crucial aspect of covert policing. It explains how prosecutors can engage with offenders to secure intelligence or evidence for investigations or prosecutions related to indictable offences or offences triable either way. Offenders participating in this process may receive various legal benefits, including immunity from prosecution, restricted use undertakings, reductions in sentences, or sentence reviews under relevant sections of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 and the Sentencing Act 2020. It is emphasized that only specified prosecutors can formalize any agreements and that trained individuals should assist in these processes. The importance of consulting with the relevant police debrief unit is also highlighted.
Key principles
- 1Prosecutors may offer assistance agreements to offenders fulfilling specific conditions.
- 2Legal benefits include immunity, sentence reductions, and reviews for assisting offenders.
- 3Consultation with a police debrief unit is necessary if an offender qualifies for assistance under the legislation.
- 4Only specified prosecutors can grant formal agreements or undertakings.
Defined terms
- Assisting Offender
- An offender who provides intelligence or evidence to aid in an investigation or prosecution.
- Immunity from prosecution
- Protection granted to an assisting offender from being prosecuted for the offence they assisted with.
- Restricted use undertaking
- An agreement that limits how the information provided by an assisting offender can be used against them in legal proceedings.
- Reduction in sentence
- A decrease in the length of the sentence given to an assisting offender as a reward for their cooperation.
- Review of sentence
- A process allowing an assisting offender to have their sentence reassessed.
Full guidance
This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.
and section 72(opens an external website in the same tab) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) and certain sections of the Sentencing Act 2020(opens an external website in the same tab) (‘the Sentencing Act’) may be used by prosecutors to secure intelligence or evidence from offenders to assist in an investigation or prosecution (of an indictable offence or an offence triable either way). Offenders who provide such assistance are known as assisting offenders and may receive:
immunity from prosecution (section 71 SOCPA(opens an external website in the same tab) ) * restricted use undertakings (section 72 SOCPA(opens an external website in the same tab) ) * a reduction in sentence (section 74 of the Sentencing Act(opens an external website in the same tab) ) * a review of their sentence (section 388 of the Sentencing Act(opens an external website in the same tab) )
The decision as to whether it is appropriate to offer a formal written agreement in any particular case is entirely that of the specified prosecutor.
If an offender is believed to fall within the remit of the SOCPA or Sentencing Act, consultation should take place with the relevant police debrief unit.
Only a specified prosecutor can offer any agreement or undertaking. Only those who are trained and accredited should assist with any agreement or undertaking.
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Read the full APP guidanceSource: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.