UK Cautions

So, the UK Home Office has given a memo to police that they should be giving out more cautions, which apparently is like a warning in the US. Unlike the US though they can give them out for actual crimes not just traffic violations. According to the new memo though they should start giving cautions out for things like burglary, assault, rape etc. Like a traffic warning. This is in an effort to lessen the prison population.

It’s hard to really discuss something that is so stupid, and I still think the story must be presented incorrectly, or I’m not getting all the facts or something, but who came up with this idea? What problem are we trying to solve here? Too many people in prison? I don’t see how this solution is better than letting out a random percentage of inmates. And, does anyone think it’s a good idea to let the police at the scene of the crime act as judge and jury? Is that the model of british justice?