Thousands cautioned for 'minor' SA crimes

Nearly 3000 South Australians have been issued formal cautions by police for "trivial offences" instead of being taken to court, under a new scheme.

SA Police introduced the adult cautioning system in December and it works similarly to the state's long-running juvenile caution program.

The cautions are only meant to be used for minor matters and when there is a reasonable prospect of conviction.

Assistant Commissioner Phil Newitt says the change recognises not all offences should go to court.

"It allows our officers to apply common sense to how we manage the outcome of an investigation," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Many thousands of hours have been saved by dealing with trivial or low-harm matters in this way."

Cautions must be proportionate to an offence and factors like the history, the attitude of an offender and the opinion of victims are taken into account.

"It is very much focused on proportionality in terms of the offence and all the accompanying circumstances," he said.

So far, offences for which the cautions have been used most are public order matters and theft.

Cautions cannot be issued for a range of more serious offences, including sexual offences, aggravated offences and any offence involving violence, stalking or harassment against a family member.

An SA adult caution does not show on a National Police Clearance as there is no official finding of guilt, but it is recorded on SA Police's own database.