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Restorative Justice

What is it? Restorative Justice, or RJ as it is sometimes known, is a way of holding offenders to account and can be used as an alternative to a caution or conviction, or alongside a sentence. What happens? RJ gives a victim the opportunity to meet or communicate with an offender to help them […]

Nuisance calls and the Information Commissioner’s Office

Everyone has received a nuisance call, and they are a real nuisance to many, but how do your details become available, and what is being done about it? Who are the ICO? The Information Commissioner’s Office (the ‘ICO’) is an independent organisation that was set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, […]

Alexa – Witness for the Prosecution?

On 29th January 2017, Christine Sullivan and her housemate were found murdered in Farmington, New Hampshire. Their bodies were discovered by the house owner, Dean Smoronk, who was Sullivan’s boyfriend. Timothy Verrill, an associate of Smornok, was later charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. Although the evidence against Verrill is said to […]

Can I get a suspended prison sentence?

A suspended sentence is a term of imprisonment that is suspended so that you do not go into custody immediately and will not go into custody if you comply with the conditions attached. Who can get a suspended sentence? In the Magistrates’ Court, any sentence of 6 months’ imprisonment (12 months for two or […]

Offences Related to State Benefits

There are two main offences that are prosecuted in relation to benefit fraud, one involves dishonesty, the other does not. The dishonesty offence It is an offence to dishonestly make a representation in order to obtain benefit, and this includes a dishonest failure to promptly notify a change in circumstances as well as making […]

Acid Attacks – New Laws in Force

After a recent spate of assaults involving the use of acids and other corrosive substances, the government has acted to try and curb their use. At the present time around 15 offences per week involve the use of acid and other like substances. In January 2018, the Home Office announced a voluntary agreement with a […]

Grievous bodily harm/wounding

In legal shorthand we often refer to section 18 or 20 offences, these refer to specific offences under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. What is the difference between section 18 and section 20? The most serious form of assault (short of attempt murder) is grievous bodily harm (GBH) or wounding (section 18). […]

Forced Marriage

Coercing someone into marrying another for some financial or societal benefit is illegal. In April of this year, three young women in Sheffield became subject to Forced Marriage Protection Orders. This case highlights the how embedded this type of offending is in some parts of England and Wales, particularly concerning young girls. Various offences […]

What is harassment?

There are two distinct criminal offences, one of harassment putting people in fear of violence and one without. Stalking is a similar but separate offence and is not covered in this article. What does it involve? There has to be a course of conduct involving as little as two incidents against another person or […]

Inadmissible confessions

The 2015 documentary series Making a Murderer follows the story of two men from Wisconsin who were convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering a woman. One of the convicted was an impressionable teenager called Brendan Dassey. Dassey’s conviction was overturned in 2016 (confirmed on appeal in 2017) on the basis that his ‘confession’ to the […]