This week saw the new series of the BBC’s Line of Duty hit our screens, with another battle ahead for the police against serious organised crime. For those new to this drama, the first episode may well have been very confusing. The episode was clouded in layers of acronyms that a person not well versed … Continued
What is good character? As far as the criminal courts are concerned, a person of good character is usually someone without convictions or cautions recorded against them. It is of particular relevance in a trial situation as the court will consider good character in assessing the likelihood of you committing the offence and also your … Continued
GPS tags The government has announced what it has called a “world-first scheme” to track certain offenders as they are released from prison. The proposal will make those convicted of burglary, theft or robbery wear a GPS tag on release from prison. The scheme follows from the use of sobriety tags, introduced last year in … Continued
On LBC radio this week the Rottweiler like Home Secretary Priti Patel expressed a recent rise in pet thefts as ‘absolutely shocking’ and said that she was in talks about upgrading pet theft to a more serious offence, meaning that more substantial penalties could apply. The results of a BBC freedom of information request showed … Continued
A vast number of cases are awaiting a criminal trial that will rely, to a greater or lesser extent, on the admissibility of communications made via the supposedly highly encrypted Encrochat service. The Court of Appeal has now issued a ruling following preliminary rulings at Liverpool Crown Court. Whilst this ruling does not mean … Continued
The British Broadcasting Corporation (‘BBC’) found itself in the embarrassing position of being fined £28,000 this week after admitting being in contempt of Court. Why was the BBC in trouble? On the morning of 17 November 2020, the BBC made a video and audio recording of half a day’s hearing in the Planning Court before … Continued
Very often in criminal cases, several witnesses give similar and sometimes almost identical evidence. At first blush, if all the witnesses were at the same place, at the same time and witnessing the same event, surely that is to be expected? But if we pause for a moment and consider a group of … Continued
In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the government introduced changes to the custody time limit regulations that extended the custody time limits in the Crown Court by two months to address ongoing delays in the criminal justice system worsened during the pandemic. In September, Just for Kids Law, along with The Howard League for Penal … Continued
The licensing of air weapons is different across the UK: In England and Wales there is no need to acquire a licence to hold an air weapon. In Scotland air weapons owners need a specific air weapons licence. In Northern Ireland air weapons owners need a firearms licence. It an offence to sell or gift … Continued
The death of PC Harper has been in the news again recently. He died after he was dragged behind a car that was fleeing from the scene of a theft. Unusually, at the same time that the Attorney General applied for leave to refer all three sentences as being unduly lenient, the three accused applied … Continued
The Crown Prosecution Service recently produced new guidance for prosecutors considering rape charges. The new guidance was said to help tackle rape myths and stereotypes, several of which were referenced. How much of an issue are rape myths? According to the media there are were issues with rape trials and jurors do not like to … Continued
Eight new guidelines have been published for Firearms offences following an earlier consultation. The guidelines will come into force on 1 January 2021. What are sentencing guidelines? These are guidelines that must be followed by sentencers. The guidelines must be followed unless the Judge or Magistrates’ consider it is not in the interests of … Continued
