Prisons: what’s gone wrong & how to fix it – Counsel
‘An abysmal mess? What our prisons tell us about our country today – by Nick Hardwick.’
Counsel, February 2020
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
‘An abysmal mess? What our prisons tell us about our country today – by Nick Hardwick.’
Counsel, February 2020
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
‘Victims are no longer reporting some crimes to police because so many offenders are never brought to justice. A new report said the public are losing faith in the criminal justice system and have “rumbled” that police do not have the capacity to investigate.’
BBC News, 7th February 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Political organisations would face unlimited fines for breaking electoral law under new proposals to protect UK elections and referendums from “dirty money and dodgy data misuse”.’
The Guardian, 18th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A council significantly delayed completing an assessment of a complainant’s social care needs, failed to complete a support plan before reducing his personal budget and failed to properly involve him in the assessment and support planning process, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.’
Local Government Lawyer, 16th January 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Theresa May has been blamed by chief constables for botched police reforms that led to tens of thousands of alerts on foreign criminals being kept from their home countries.’
The Guardian, 15th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Public safety is at risk as huge workloads and staff shortages continue to place the probation sector under pressure, inspectors have said, while officers lack the “professional curiosity” needed to spot potentially dangerous behaviour among offenders managed in the community.’
The Guardian, 14th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Victims of serious crime now wait almost a year-and-a-half for the suspects to go on trial while judges sit “idle” after the government cut their sitting days – despite Guardian analysis finding almost half of all crown courtrooms in England and Wales are empty each day.’
The Guardian, 13th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Legal campaigners have attacked the government’s announcement of a royal commission on the criminal justice system for “ignoring” the impact of its own budget cuts.’
The Independent, 19th December 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has refused to grant Rochdale Council permission to challenge the findings of a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on the way it pays special guardians.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th December 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A review of record low rape conviction rates has found a justice system “close to breaking point” because of cuts. The Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (CPSI) said a “damning” number of cases are lost during “under-resourced” police investigations. But it rejected claims that prosecutors are unfairly selective about cases they charge.’
BBC News, 17th December 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Crown court faces a growing backlog of work, as the number of criminal cases reaching court rises but the number of disposals falls.’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th December 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A cut out & keep guide to Practice Direction 51U and overview of the changes to disclosure procedures in the Business and Property Courts.’
Counsel, December 2019
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
‘The future government has been urged to consider every available measure to curb the current drug death “crisis”, including decriminalisation, in an unprecedented plea from the UK’s major drug treatment providers.’
The Independent, 2nd December 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The number of unrepresented defendants in crown courts is rising sharply, the head of the Criminal Bar Association has warned, as cuts to legal aid increasingly affect the criminal justice system.’
The Guardian, 24th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In the recent case of Orexim Trading Ltd v Mahavir Port and Terminal Private Ltd (Costs) [2019] EWHC 2338 (Comm), Christopher Hancock QC (sitting as a judge of the High Court) made an order against the defendant for payment of costs on account in the event that the defendant failed to comply with an ‘unless order’. Orexim followed the approach of Mr Justice Coulson (as he then was) in Bruce MacInnes v Hans Thomas Gross [2017] EWHC 127 (QB).’
Law Society's Gazette, 11th November 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The justice system “will break down” and allow crimes to go unpunished if the next government does not provide hundreds of millions of pounds in investment, it has been warned.’
The Independent, 11th November 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Denying access to justice risks creating fresh conflicts at a time when the international rule of law is under threat, the Commonwealth secretary general has warned ahead of a meeting of the organisation’s law enforcement officers.’
The Guardian, 5th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The most vulnerable in society are at risk of being excluded from access to justice due to poor digital skills, lack of legal advice, court closures and “dilapidated” courthouses, MPs have warned in a damning critique of the government’s modernisation programmes.’
The Guardian, 31st October 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com