[Image credit: “Self portrait trauma scars, Emotional abuse, Mental, sexual, Physical, verbal Domestic Violence Spousal marital rape Trauma PTSD, Self Portrait, Runjanefox, #janefox this is me. #domesticviolence #stopdv #spousalrape #dv #hearmystory” by Run Jane Fox is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0] The Royal College of Psychiatrists has published a report on mentally disordered offenders in the criminal justice system.…
[Image credit: “Automotive Social Media Marketing” by socialautomotive is licensed under CC BY 2.0 ] 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…
[Image credit: Crown Copyright ] Technology has been developed by the DVLA and the Home Office for police officers to use at the roadside to confirm the identity of a driver. The technology allows instant access to a photograph of the driver. The picture is held on the DVLA driver’s database, and immediate access is…
[Image credit: © Steve Cadman licensed under cc-by-sa2.0 ] The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced a new offence which came into effect on 29th June 2021. Section 69 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 creates a new offence of threatening to disclose a private sexual photograph or film in which another individual appears, and by…
[Image credit: Crown Copyright, Natural England ] Natural England is the government’s advisor for the natural environment in England and Wales. Established in 2006, its purpose is to help conserve, enhance and manage the natural environment. It enforces the laws that protect wildlife and the environment and state that enforcement is used as a last…
[Image credit: Metropolitan Police ] 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 his head, with no…
[Image credit: © Metropolitan Police ] A new draft sentencing guideline for the offence of importing prohibited or restricted firearms has been published for consultation. There are no current guidelines in respect of these offences, although there are eight current guidelines for offences under the Firearms Act 1968. Sentencing guidelines set the range for sentences…
[Image credit: “Banknotes, money, cash” by HowardLake is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 ] 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…
[Image credit: “Soccer Stadium” by martha_chapa95 is licensed under CC BY 2.0 ] Alan Foster, Donald Denton and Peter Metcalf were charged with perverting the course of justice, accused of altering the statements of 68 police officers following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. Denton and Foster were former senior police officers, Metcalf was the former police force solicitor for…
[Image credit: Arms over the entrance to the Crown Court and County Court in St Aldates’, Oxford. Photograph taken 2006-03-25. Copyright © 2006 Kaihsu Tai. ] The existing assault guidelines came into effect in January 2012; at the same time, the attempt murder guideline was revised. Following an “extensive and complex project”, new sentencing guidelines…
