The Sentencing Council is an independent body promoting greater consistency in sentencing while maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Council is responsible for developing sentencing guidelines for use by the judiciary and criminal justice professionals and also monitors their use. New draft guidelines for the offences of witness intimidation and perverting the course … Continued
A case recently came before the Recorder of London. It was ruled that it was not in the public interest to force a journalist to hand over material that would identify a potential terrorist. The journalist in question was Chris Mullin, and the police applied for an order for him to produce excluded material. … Continued
The House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts has published a report on reducing the backlog in criminal courts. The committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the accounts “showing the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the public expenditure, and of such other accounts laid before … Continued
A Bill is progressing through Parliament to set up a register of overseas entities and their beneficial owners and require overseas entities who own land to register in certain circumstances. It also makes provisions about unexplained wealth orders and sanctions. The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill has three main objectives: To prevent and combat … Continued
In a recent case, the Supreme Court considered the issue of privacy. The Court held that, in general, a person under criminal investigation has, prior to being charged, a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of information relating to that investigation. Background ZXC (as he was referred to in the case) was a US citizen … Continued
A government press release has the heading “thousands of new prison places to rehabilitate offenders and cut crime.” It seems odd when most people would not think of a prison sentence as rehabilitation but rather as a punishment or deterrent. The announcement goes on to say that there will be an “unprecedented” refurbishment and … Continued
Supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency is an executive non-departmental public body. The Agency was established in 1996 “to protect and improve the environment” their responsibilities are: regulating major industry and waste; treatment of contaminated land; water quality and resources; fisheries; inland river, estuary and harbour navigations; and … Continued
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced funding for councils in England to support domestic abuse victims. The funding is to be used to provide safe accommodation spaces, for example refuges and shelters, with provision for vital support services. Such services would include healthcare, social workers and benefits, immigration advice and … Continued
A number of cases have hit the news recently relating to scams or frauds carried out using Tinder. The Tinder app is available in nearly two hundred countries, with an average of 1.6 billion “swipes” per day. With 50 million users, there is a wide audience for scams and fraud. Malware is a common … Continued
When the Minister responsible for Whitehall efficiency and counter-fraud resigned in January, he mentioned lax oversight of the Bounce Bank Loan Scheme BBLS. Much has also been said in the press about frauds surrounding the scheme and losses from similar schemes being written off but has anyone actually been prosecuted? Last year the Department of … Continued
Timpsons frequently advertise on social media that they employ a large number of ex-offenders, and successfully. This may be something that we will be seeing more of following a recent government announcement. Dominic Raab, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, has announced the introduction of prisoner apprenticeships. Regulations will be brought in … Continued
New regulations come into force on 25th March 2022, called the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2022. These regulations amend the definition of hand-held devices; these are the definitions that will be used to govern the use of mobile phones and devices by drivers. The offence It is an offence for a … Continued
