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Parole Hearings To Be Heard In Public For The First Time

Victims, members of the public and the media will be able to ask for a parole hearing to be heard in public for the first time, following law changes.  From 21 July 2022, anyone including prisoners, victims, members of the public or the media will be able to ask the Board to hold a hearing… Continue reading Parole Hearings To Be Heard In Public For The First Time

A new section for self-driving vehicles has been added to the Highway Code

From the 1st of July 2022, new rules on the use of self-driving vehicles in Great Britain have come into force. The changes are included in a new section in The Highway Code. Currently only vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems are available in the UK. No vehicles in Great Britain have been classed as… Continue reading A new section for self-driving vehicles has been added to the Highway Code

Barristers’ Strike Action

With effect from 27th June 2022, barristers in England & Wales will be taking industrial action in order to protest against what they see as the deteriorating state of the criminal justice system. A form of action, known as “no return” is already in place, but further measures are being taken in order to force… Continue reading Barristers’ Strike Action

Corporate Criminal Liability

New Criminal Justice Initiatives

It has been a busy week for new policy announcements, with these coming from the Ministry of Justice in the last few days.         Prison leavers tagged to cut alcohol-fuelled crime Prison leavers will be ordered to wear a sobriety tag, which monitors alcohol levels in sweat, if their probation officer thinks… Continue reading New Criminal Justice Initiatives

New airport-style security in prisons sees record level of drug seizures

Over the last two years, over 70 X-ray body scanners have been installed in all closed male prisons, producing high-quality images of concealed contraband so that prison officers can easily find and stop dangerous items from entering jails. These scanners have prevented over 19000 attempts to smuggle contraband into prison wings, including one substantial haul… Continue reading New airport-style security in prisons sees record level of drug seizures

Sentencing Guidelines for Sexual Offences

The Sentencing Council has this week published revised sentencing guidelines for a number of sexual offences. These new guidelines will apply to those sentenced on or after 31 May 2022, and in one case to those sentenced on or after 1 July 2022.   Which offences are covered by these changes? The revisions cover: Arranging… Continue reading Sentencing Guidelines for Sexual Offences

Domestic Homicide

The Home Office has published a report that summarises information from domestic homicide reviews (DHR) from October 2019 to 2020. The reviews are multi-agency reviews that are commissioned by community safety partnerships. They look into the deaths of adults that may have resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by a related person, someone they were… Continue reading Domestic Homicide

Violent Crime