Murder committed every ten days by criminal on bail – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 23rd, 2012 in bail, crime, murder, news, recidivists, statistics by sally

“A murder is committed by a criminal out on bail every ten days, new statistics have revealed.”

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd October 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

LIBOR to be regulated as Government accepts Wheatley’s recommendations “in full” – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 18th, 2012 in banking, bills, crime, financial regulation, interest, news by sally

“Administering and contributing to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will become a regulated activity, while criminal sanctions will be introduced for ‘misleading statements’ in relation to the benchmark, the Government has confirmed.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Crime in England and Wales falls – BBC News

Posted October 18th, 2012 in crime, news, statistics by sally

“Crimes against adults fell 6% in England and Wales for the year ending in June, compared with the previous year, official statistics show.”

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BBC News, 18th October 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hate-crime cases failing in court, says CPS – The Independent

Posted October 18th, 2012 in crime, harassment, hate crime, news, prosecutions, reports, statistics, victims by sally

“Increasing numbers of hate-crime prosecutions are collapsing because victims are backing out or their stories unravel in court, a new report from the Crown Prosecution Service reveals today.”

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The Independent, 18th October 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Victims to pick offenders’ punishment, Home Secretary says – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 9th, 2012 in crime, news, penalties, restorative justice, victims by sally

“Victims of crime will be able to decide how offenders are punished, under new proposals outlined by Home Secretary Theresa May today.”

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Daily Telegraph, 9th October 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Tilting at Windmills – The “New” Offence of Squatting in a Residential Building – Zenith Chambers

Posted September 17th, 2012 in crime, news, squatting by sally

“The provisions of s. 144 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 ‘create’ the offence, punishable by a fine on summary conviction or a maximum of 51 weeks in prison, of squatting in a residential building. This has resulted in a Government Circular (2012/04) explaining the offence and its ambit, issued on 22nd August 2012 and implemented on 1st September 2012. This article does not propose to comment on the perceived political or social imperative for creating yet another summary criminal offence, but rather the purpose, effect and guidance given by the government in investigating and prosecuting the offence.”

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Zenith Chambers, 10th September 2012

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

International Criminal Tribunals: Experiments? Works in progress? Institutions that are here for good, or maybe not? – Gresham College Lecture

Posted September 13th, 2012 in crime, international courts, jurisdiction, lectures by tracey

“In the last twenty years several international courts have been established to try crimes committed in armed conflicts. Public expectation of what these courts may achieve is high; but are the courts living up to that expectation? Is the public expectation realistic and part of a liberal tradition; may it be seen as ‘judicial romantic’, according to courts capabilities they can never have? Are the courts always bound to be tainted by political influence that makes it probable they will ultimately fail? What sense can be made of the permanent International Criminal Court – the ICC – when Russia, China and the USA decline to accept its jurisdiction for their own citizens but can, as permanent members of the Security Council of the UN, refer individuals from other non-member states to the ICC for trial? And would it matter if the ICC failed? Has enough already been done to chart a way ahead that will allow the law a proper role in the service of countries, or communities in countries, at war? In any event, are war crimes trials the best partner of politics in the search for peace? Are there times when it may be better to let history go in the interests of a better safer future? This is a part of Sir Geoffrey Nice’s 2012/13 series of lectures as Gresham Professor of Law.”

Transcript

Lecture by Sir Geoffrey Nice

Gresham College, 12th September 2012

Source: www.gresham.ac.uk

Hate crimes against disabled people soar to a record level – The Independent

Posted June 19th, 2012 in crime, disabled persons, harassment, hate crime, news by sally

“‘Anti-scrounger’ rhetoric blamed for doubling of offences since 2008 financial crisis.”

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The Independent, 19th June 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Parliament to tell courts to get tough on human rights – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 19th, 2012 in crime, deportation, human rights, news, public interest by sally

“Foreign criminals jailed for four years or more must be deported regardless of how long they have been in the UK, MPs will tell the courts today.”

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Daily Telegraph, 19th June 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Parents who force their children into marriage face jail – The Independent

Posted June 7th, 2012 in crime, forced marriages, news, parental responsibility by sally

“Parents who coerce their children to marry will face jail under moves to be set out tomorrow by David Cameron.”

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The Independent, 7th June 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Only 16% of solved crimes lead to convictions – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 1st, 2012 in crime, news, police, prosecutions, statistics by tracey

“Fewer than one in five solved crimes leads to the offender receiving a  conviction in court, it has emerged as new online police maps show how offences were dealt with for the first time.”

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Daily Telegraph, 31st May 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Serious criminals cannot hide behind EU deportation rules, judges conclude – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 23rd, 2012 in crime, deportation, EC law, freedom of movement, news by sally

“Serious criminals cannot avoid deportation by hiding behind EU rules on free movement, judges concluded yesterday.”

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd May 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Forced marriages blight lives, but criminalising them would not work – The Guardian

Posted April 10th, 2012 in crime, forced marriages, news by sally

“There are better ways to combat forced marriages than creating a new offence, which would deter victims from seeking help.”

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The Guardian, 9th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

There but for the grace of God? : a consideration of recent fatal road traffic cases – Zenith Chambers

“Since 18th August 2008 there has been an offence on the statute books which effectively criminalises what in many cases amount to little more than minor errors of judgement; this offence carries with it the prospect of the alleged offender being sent to prison for anything up to five years. Section 2B of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (inserted by the Road Safety Act 2006) introduced motorists to the offence of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving. It was undoubtedly enacted because of increased public (and tabloid) disquiet about the previous alternative to the more serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving (s1 RTA 1988); this was, of course, the much less serious charge of careless and inconsiderate driving (s3 RTA 1988), which carried only a financial penalty and a discretionary disqualification from driving. Since the implementation of s2B RTA 1988, however, the prosecuting authorities have become increasingly keen to charge drivers with this offence; indeed, matters now appear to have reached the point where their default position seems to be that simply because a fatality arises from a road traffic collision, then a prosecution must follow, irrespective of where the fault for the collision lies. The exercise of any proper judgement as to whether it is in the public interest to pursue a prosecution in
many such cases seems to have completely evaporated.”

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Zenith Chambers, 27th March 2012

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Regina v Kapoor and others – WLR Daily

Posted March 13th, 2012 in appeals, crime, immigration, law reports by sally

Regina v Kapoor and others [2012] EWCA Crim 435; [2012] WLR (D) 72

“For the purposes of section 25(1)(2) of the Immigration Act 1971, as substituted, an ‘immigration law’ was a law which determined whether a person was lawfully or unlawfully either entering the United Kingdom, or in transit or being in the United Kingdom and did not include section 2 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004 which made it an offence for a person not to have with him at a leave or asylum interview an immigration document which was in force and satisfactorily established his identity and nationality or citizenship.”

WLR Daily, 9th March 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Crime and Punishment: new documentary exploring criminality – Ministry of Justice

Posted March 13th, 2012 in crime, criminal justice, news, prisons by sally

“A new BBC documentary starts today, exploring criminality over the past 60 years and featuring a number of prisons in England and Wales.”

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Ministry of Justice, 12th March 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Sexist remarks and wolf-whistles could become criminal offences – The Guardian

Posted March 8th, 2012 in crime, harassment, news, sex discrimination, treaties, women by sally

“Salacious whistles and sexist comments may fall foul of new laws against sexual harassment to which Britain is signing up, the prime minister will announce on Thursday.”

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The Guardian, 8th March 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stalking to be made specific criminal offence – Cameron – BBC News

Posted March 8th, 2012 in crime, domestic violence, harassment, news, treaties, violence, women by sally

“Stalking is to be made a specific criminal offence in England and Wales, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.”

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BBC News, 8th March 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina v B – WLR Daily

Posted March 6th, 2012 in appeals, crime, DNA, evidence, law reports, retrials by sally

Regina v B [2012] WLR (D) 56

“For the purposes of quashing an acquittal on the ground that there was new evidence not adduced before the court in the proceedings in which the person was acquitted, evidence which had been available to be used in those proceedings but had not been used might be new evidence for those purposes.”

WLR Daily, 29th February 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Let the deportation fit the crime – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 7th, 2012 in appeals, crime, deportation, human rights, news, proportionality by sally

“In a short but fascinating judgment which lays bare the foundation stones of judicial review, the Court of Appeal has articulated the principles to be applied when considering whether automatic deportation of a foreign criminal was ‘proportionate’ for the purposes of Article 8 of the Convention.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th February 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com