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Prosecution Time Limits

Last week the Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson suggested a 10-year time limit ( a Statute of Limitations) on the prosecution of soldiers accused of murder during military engagement. This proposal was in response to reports that British soldiers may face prosecution over deaths during the Northern Ireland troubles in the 1970s and 80s. So, what […]

Knife Crime – Searching for Solutions

The Home Secretary will this week hold an urgent meeting with police chiefs to discuss the recent rise in knife crime. This follows another week of senseless killings and the publication of figures that show the number of people aged 16 and under being stabbed rose by 93% between 2016 and 2018. Channel 4 found, […]

Counterfeit Currency – You May Pay a Very High Price

In straitened financial circumstances, it can be tempting to consider purchasing counterfeit money. While the price of such ‘currency’ fluctuates widely, it is often as low as 25% of the face value, making it a tempting proposition. State currency producers spend millions each year on devising and improving security safeguards, and that counterfeit currency can […]

Modern Slavery – A Defence to Drug Dealing and other offences?

The short answer is: maybe. Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides a defence to specific criminal charges where it is shown that they were committed under a compulsion due to slavery or exploitation (for over-18s) or as a direct consequence of slavery or exploitation (for under-18s). The latter test, for children, is […]

GPS Electronic Monitoring, Big Brother Will be Watching

The government has announced a national rollout of GPS electronic tagging which will mean 24/7 location monitoring of those wearing the tag. The tag is now available in three Probation areas; the North West, Midlands and North East. Location monitoring will go live in the South East, South West and Wales by April 2019. There […]

New Anti-Terrorism Powers

The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 has completed its parliamentary journey and will, in the main, come in to effect over the next few months. The Home Secretary Sajid Javid claims that the Act: ‘…ensures sentencing for certain terrorism offences can properly reflect the severity of the crimes, as well as preventing re-offending and […]

Pensions – Time to Rethink Corporate Responsibility

The government has published proposals to punish individuals who mishandle pension scheme management. Two new offences are proposed. The first will target individuals who wilfully or recklessly mishandle pension schemes, endangering workers’ pensions, by such things as chronic mismanagement of a business; or allowing huge unsustainable deficits to build up; or taking huge investment risks; […]

Drug Detection and Prisons

The government has announced that drug detection scanners are being introduced at ten of the “most challenging” prisons. The technology will be used to detect drugs on clothes, paper and mail. It will be able to detect otherwise invisible traces of substances that have been soaked into clothes or letters in an attempt to bypass […]

Review of the Parole Board

The Parole Board is an independent body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners serving certain sentences to determine whether they can be safely released into the community. When a person is considered to be fit for release it means that their risk has been reduced to a level where it is low enough to […]

Causing Death by Dangerous Driving – Sentencing Issues

In a recent case His Honour Judge Jeremy Richardson QC was faced with the task of sentencing 3 offenders for their part in causing the death of 4 people, and seriously injuring 3 others. The main offender Elliot Bower received a total prison sentence of 11 1/2 years. The offence of causing death by dangerous […]