The government has announced that there will be new legislation designed to cut “crime and build safer communities”. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is intended to give the police “the powers and tools they need to protect themselves and the public”. The measures include: Positions of trust – existing legislation will be widened to include … 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
Whenever a person is remanded in custody in criminal proceedings, a time limit is set within which the trial must be concluded. The Covid lockdown meant that trials were temporarily suspended leading to issues with custody time limits, if a trial cannot take place within the specified timeframe an application can be made for the … Continued
There are typically less than 100 prosecutions each year for this offence but given that the defendants are public servants such as police officers, prison officers and the like, the consequences of a conviction on careers, pensions and even liberty can be very severe. This week the Law Commission, which is the statutory body responsible … Continued
