The Sentencing Council has the responsibility of developing and monitoring sentencing guidelines. The aim is to promote consistency in sentencing while maintaining the independence of the judiciary. Following a consultation period, the Council has published sentencing guidelines for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The...
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was introduced in the House of Lords in early July and awaits a second reading. The Bill is formed of thirteen parts, including provisions to: introduce measures for the protection of the police; introduce legislation for the prevention,...
The Law Commission has published a set of recommendations aiming to address the harms that arise from online abuse. As a counterbalance, protections for freedom of expression are recommended to increase. The Law Commission is independent and was set up by parliament to keep the law...
Ban on knives, firearms and offensive weapons Possession of an offensive weapon is an offence if it is in public and without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. A weapon can be offensive as a matter of course (it is made for use of causing injury), adapted...
Renationalised Probation Service In 2015 reforms were passed to allow some of the National Probation Service responsibilities to be dealt with by private companies. Known as Community Rehabilitation Companies, or CRCs, the companies were responsible for low to medium risk offenders while probation continued to deal...
On the 5th July 2021, certain provisions of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 come into force in specific areas for a period of 14 months. The area in question is the "metropolitan police district", which consists of Greater London, excluding the City of London, the...
You may have heard the name Daniel Morgan being mentioned in the media recently. Daniel was a private investigator who would carry out extensive work for the News of the World. He was found murdered in 1987 in a car park with an axe embedded in...
HMRC seized £35,000 cash in plastic carrier bags from a Mr Mann as it was suspected he was fraudulently evading excise duty. Boxes of vodka worth around £220,000 had also been found on the premises. Once cash is seized, it can be held for up to...
A former premier league footballer, Shayne Bradley, pleaded guilty to stalking a former girlfriend. It was said he followed her, watched her house, sent mails and made abusive phone calls. He hid in hedges near her home and set up a fake dating profile to make...
The offence of controlling and coercive behaviour has been on the statute books for a few years now but has recently hit the headlines. Ruth Dodsworth is an ITV Wales presenter who met her ex-husband, Jonathan Wignall, in 2001. She became the primary income earner when...