News & Advice

Two new guidelines for sentencing people convicted of interfering with the administration of justice in England and Wales were published this week by the Sentencing Council following consultation. For the first time, judges and magistrates will have guidelines to assist in sentencing perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation offences. The new guidelines will… Continue reading New Sentencing Guidelines

A massive police operation across Europe to disrupt serious crime, much of it being conducted across encrypted phone devices (‘EncroChat’) has been judged a significant success. Police investigators managed to intercept, share and analyse over 115 million allegedly criminal conversations by an estimated number of over 60,000 users.  User hotspots were prevalent in source and… Continue reading EncroChat Disruption – What Did the Data Reveal?

Shortages of prison staff and a lack of training means not enough prisoners are able to improve their reading – according to a new report by Ofsted and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons. In March 2022, Ofsted and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) published a joint review of reading education in prisons, which highlighted… Continue reading Poor Support for Prisoner Education

The Sentencing Council has published 12 new and revised sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences in England and Wales. The new and revised guidelines, which apply to adults only, will come into effect on 1 July 2023. The changes include updated versions of six current guidelines that were published in 2008 and reflect… Continue reading Driving Offences – New Sentencing Guidelines

The Sentencing of young persons is one of the most complex judicial exercises, which must recognise the substantial differences between child and adult offending, particularly where an offender before the court has just reached majority age.  Research has repeatedly emphasised the pace of developmental milestones and often suggests that full maturity may only be reached… Continue reading Court of Appeal Issues Further Guidance on Sentencing of Young People

Many newspapers this week ran a headline in these or similar terms:  ‘Trust in police hanging by a thread, inspectorate says.’ The impetus for this kind of comment was a damning report published by the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke.        In the State of Policing 2022, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary… Continue reading Policing – A Crisis of Confidence?

On 3 March 2023, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment in the case of Arie Ali. The case proved to be of some interest due to this remark made by Lord Justice Edis: ‘On 24 February 2023, the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to the Lord Chief Justice saying:- “You will appreciate that operating… Continue reading Prison Overcrowding – A Get Out of Jail Free Card?

When considering police powers, particularly concerning search and seizure of property, we think first of powers derived from statute, which leads us to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. On occasion, however, statute does not provide police with effective powers, and the question arises as to whether their actions will be lawful if they… Continue reading Police Powers & The Common Law

The Law Commission is tasked with keeping the law under review and this week presented a consultation paper discussing significant reforms to the trial of sexual offences, including rape.   Why Was the Review Carried Out?   In its End-to-End Rape Review, the Government looked at the decline in conviction rates since 2016 – one… Continue reading Trial of Sexual Offences