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Participating in Organised Crime

Section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 makes it is an offence to participate in the activities of an organised crime group, this is a new offence created by the 2015 legislation. Why a new offence? The offence was created to work alongside the offence of conspiracy. A conspiracy charge is aimed at […]

Criminal Behaviour Orders

Is it an ASBO? The criminal behaviour order (CBO) replaced the Anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) and can be made if convicted of a criminal offence. There are some key differences between the two orders, but the overall impact is very similar. When can a CBO be made? As long as the two-stage test is […]

Weapons – Government to Get Tough

The government has published an Offensive Weapons Bill, which is designed to signal a more stringent approach to the possession of weapons and liquids that can be used to cause harm, such as corrosive substances. The Bill forms part of the government’s response to the recent rise in serious violence, set out in the £40 […]

“I’m Going to Kill You!”

How many times have you said something similar? Is it an offence? If you make such a threat, intending that another would fear it would be carried out, you commit an offence of making threats to kill. The offence is under section 16 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Even though the […]

Taking Offences into Consideration – The Issue of TICs

TICs are offences to be taken into consideration at the time of sentencing. When would I be asked about them? If you have pleaded guilty to an offence or are expected to, or are due to be sentenced, you can admit other offences and ask for them to be taken into consideration upon sentence. […]

Minimum Sentences

For certain offences, there are minimum terms of imprisonment that a court must impose, absent exceptional circumstances (or it being unjust), these sentences can be automatically imposed even for a first-time offender, or dependent on certain previous convictions. It is worth noting that the actual sentence may be far in excess of the minimum, dependant […]

Targeting Drink Drivers

The government has announced its intention to use new roadside breathalysers, in a move that could see a further 6,000 convictions per year for drink driving. At the moment, the breath test procedure is in 2 stages, a person who tests positive at the roadside will be arrested and taken to a police station for […]

Getting Tough on Breach of Court Orders

Today (7 June 2018), the Sentencing Council has published new guidelines for judges and magistrates for when they are sentencing offenders who have breached court orders. The guidelines provide a clear approach which will mean a tightening up of the way courts deal with offenders who have not complied with a wide range of orders […]

Social Media Crime

With the ever-growing popularity of social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram it is important to take a step back and consider your use of them. You need to make sure that you and your children not only control the personal information that is put onto social media but also your behaviour on […]

Unlawful Eviction

So called ‘Rogue landlords’ are frequently in the news for allegedly charging tenants too much money, refusing to release a deposit or evicting tenants unlawfully. What is meant by ‘unlawful eviction’? The statutory starting point is the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 Section 1(2) states when someone is guilty of this offence: “If any […]