In 1985, 81 percent of persons who were cautioned were first offenders; this proportion dropped to 69 percent by 1991. Just over 16 percent of males in the 1991 sample had been cautioned but not previously convicted, and the same ratio had a previous conviction, with or without previous cautions. Females were less likely than males to have a previous criminal history. Very small numbers of offenders had received two or more cautions before the incident under study. The article compares subsequent conviction rates after 1, 2, or 5 years of those cautioned in the three samples and compares the rates according to whether there was no previous criminal history, cautions only, or at least one conviction. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 4 references