Crown Prosecution Service lawyers trivialise teen sexual abuse, report says – The Guardian

‘Lawyers in the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales have trivialised teen sexual abuse, are “obsessed” about the credibility of rape victims and used victim-blaming language, according to a critical official examination into how the service deals with serious sexual crimes.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Hundreds of small boat migrants charged with illegal entry to UK after new powers come into force – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2024 in asylum, children, immigration, news, prosecutions, young persons by tracey

‘Hundreds of small boat migrants have been charged with arriving illegally in the UK, or arranging the arrival of others, in the year after new powers came into force. New analysis from the University of Oxford and a coalition of charities shows that in the year following the expansion of the government’s new laws on restricting channel crossings, the Nationality and Borders Act, some 240 small boat migrants were charged with illegal arrival to the UK.’

Full Story

The Independent, 26th February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

£1.2bn Is Spent Convicting People By Association, Including Innocent Bystanders – Each Other

Posted February 21st, 2024 in bills, budgets, criminal justice, homicide, joint enterprise, news, prosecutions, statistics by sally

‘A recent report by Manchester Metropolitan University, ‘The Mounting Cost of Injustice: Calculating the Economic Cost of Joint Enterprise’, reveals that £1.2bn of taxpayer money is spent annually to convict an average of 1,088 individuals under joint enterprise.’

Full Story

Each Other, 19th February 2024

Source: eachother.org.uk

DPP appeals to supreme court in case of protesters who called MP ‘Tory scum’ – The Guardian

‘The director of public prosecutions is appealing to the supreme court in an ongoing and expensive battle to overturn the acquittal of two protesters found to have acted reasonably in calling Iain Duncan Smith “Tory scum”.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 31st January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Clampdown on child abuse as a gap in the law closed – Ministry of Justice

Posted January 23rd, 2024 in amendments, bills, child abuse, news, prosecutions, sexual offences by tracey

‘Children will be better protected from sexual abuse following change to the law making it easier to prosecute criminals who have had sex in front of children for gratification.’

Full Story

Ministry of Justice, 18th January 2024

Source: www.gov.uk

UK medics told not to report illegal abortions to police – The Guardian

‘Medical staff in the UK should not report women to the police if they believe their patients may have illegally ended their own pregnancy, a professional body has said. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has said it is never in the public interest to report women who have abortions to law enforcement agencies, according to the BBC.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 22nd January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rape complainants warned pre-recording evidence could backfire – BBC News

Posted January 11th, 2024 in evidence, news, prosecutions, rape, statistics, video recordings by sally

‘Rape complainants should be told pre-recording evidence could harm their chances of securing a conviction at trial, researchers say.’

Full Story

BBC News, 11th January 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Eaglescliffe woman found not guilty of ‘home abortion’ – BBC News

Posted January 10th, 2024 in abortion, Crown Prosecution Service, news, pregnancy, prosecutions by sally

‘A woman charged with carrying out an illegal abortion on herself has been found not guilty on the eve of her trial after the prosecution dropped the case due to “evidential difficulties”.’

Full Story

BBC News, 9th January 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Mothers who kill: A look at infanticide – Doughty Street Chambers

Posted November 14th, 2023 in birth, child neglect, children, homicide, murder, news, pregnancy, prosecutions by sally

‘Murders where mothers kill their babies are thankfully rare, however recent cases raise questions about the legal framework surrounding this offence, and whether laws concerning murder, manslaughter and infanticide are applied in a way that protects not only vulnerable children but also vulnerable women.’

Full Story

Doughty Street Chambers, 9th October 2023

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

CPS declined to charge undercover police officer who deceived woman into 19-year relationship – The Guardian

‘The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to pursue charges against an undercover police officer who deceived a woman into a 19-year relationship without even hearing evidence from the victim in the case.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th September 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Missing evidence led to 16 homicides in England and Wales not going to trial – The Guardian

Posted September 4th, 2023 in evidence, homicide, news, police, prosecutions, statistics by tracey

‘Prosecutions involving more than a dozen homicides and more than 100 sexual offences collapsed before trial in England and Wales last year as a result of lost or missing evidence, the Guardian has learned.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 3rd September 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

SRA told to pay solicitor £75k in costs for failed prosecution – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been slapped with a £75,000 costs order after making an “essential mistake of law” in a failed prosecution of a solicitor.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 31st August 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Is it time to re-assess the cab rank rule? – Doughty Street Chambers

‘In March, 2023, many lawyers, including 18 barristers, signed a “declaration” that they will not prosecute climate-change activists or act for those promoting new fossil fuel projects. Is the ‘cab rank rule’ [Code rC28 -29] under threat?’

Full Story

Doughty Street Chambers, 20th July 2023

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Taskforce to pursue lawyers who ‘coach’ clients to lie on UK asylum applications – The Guardian

‘Lawyers who “coach” people to lie in their asylum applications will be targeted as part of a new government-led panel tasked with pursuing more prosecutions.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 8th August 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rape victims still being ‘failed’ two years after action promised – BBC News

Posted June 20th, 2023 in Crown Prosecution Service, news, police, prosecutions, rape, reports, victims by sally

‘Two years after the government’s end-to-end rape review for England and Wales, victims are still being failed, say women’s groups.’

Full Story

BBC News, 20th June 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Call to overhaul ‘out of date’ UK abortion laws after woman jailed – The Guardian

‘Abortion legislation is “very much out of date” and should be overhauled, the chair of the Commons women and equalities committee has said, after a woman was jailed for procuring drugs to induce an abortion after the legal limit.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 13th June 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Nearly 70% of rape victims drop out of investigations in England and Wales – The Guardian

‘Nearly 70% of rape survivors dropped out of the justice system in the fourth quarter of last year, according to official government data.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 30th May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Law Commission calls for tighter rules on use of personal records in rape trials – The Guardian

‘Greater restrictions should be introduced on the use of rape complainants’ personal records and evidence relating to their sexual behaviour to avoid rape myths contaminating trials in England and Wales, a government-commissioned review has said.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 23rd May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

CPS ‘cherrypicking’ cases to prosecute, say senior police chiefs – The Guardian

‘Two of Britain’s most senior police chiefs have accused prosecutors of “cherrypicking” cases to prosecute in court and warned that victims were being let down.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 18th May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

CPS Says: Conviction rates play no part in deciding whether or not to charge a case – Crown Prosecution Service

‘Conviction rates play no part in CPS decision making – so we know a story this week “CPS failing victims by cherry-picking cases” may have caused concern.’

Full Story

Crown Prosecution Service, 19th May 2023

Source: www.cps.gov.uk