Adult courts ‘unfit for children’ – BBC News
“The use of the Old Bailey and other crown courts to try children is ‘inappropriate’, the new head of the Criminal Bar Association has warned.”
BBC News, 3rd September 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: criminal justice
Confidence in the criminal justice system: what lies beneath? – Ministry of Justice
“This report presents the findings from an omnibus survey and focus groups designed to identify the factors that people consider when answering the question: ‘How confident are you that the criminal justice system is effective in bringing people who commit crimes to justice?’ This question is contained in the British Crime Survey, the responses to which are used to monitor performance against one of the Government’s public service agreement targets. The study also identified which agencies people thought made up the criminal justice system (CJS), and whether they considered the CJS as a national system, local system, or a combination of the two.”
Confidence in the criminal justice system: what lies beneath? (PDF)
Ministry of Justice, 7th August 2007
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Justice delayed as courts short of judges – Daily Telegraph
“A shortage of judges is causing delays in bringing criminal trials to court, putting more pressure on prisons and delaying justice for victims of crime.”
Daily Telegraph, 30th July 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Legal giants pour scorn on Labour’s record – The Times
“A group of the UK’s most influential barristers has severely criticised the Labour Government’s treatment of the UK legal system over the past ten years.”
The Times, 27th July 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Youth crime targets missed – Daily Telegraph
“Increases in arrests of young people for petty crimes and anti-social behaviour have undermined Government efforts to reduce the number of youths entering the criminal justice system, according to a report.”
Daily Telegraph, 25th July 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Women and justice report – The Fawcett Society
“This report, published on Wednesday 25 July, examines the work that has been done in the last year to improve the criminal justice system for women, as offenders, victims and staff … ”
The Fawcett Society, 25th July 2007
Source: www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
More than half of offenders not taken to court – Daily Telegraph
“The number of criminals dealt with by fines and “slap on the wrist” cautions in England and Wales has overtaken the total taken to court, it was disclosed yesterday.”
Daily Telegraph, 18th July 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Half of criminals are never prosecuted – The Times
“Fewer than half of the criminals brought to justice by authorities in England and Wales are taken to court, it was revealed today.”
The Times, 17th July 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Protest over prosecutions without lawyers – The Times
“Thousands of trials a year could be prosecuted by non-lawyers under plans for an extension of the powers of the Crown Prosecution Service’s lay staff.”
The Times, 16th July 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill – Ministry of Justice
“Tougher offences to tackle crime and strong, new measures to cut re-offending were announced today (26 June) by David Hanson MP, Minister of Justice and Baroness Scotland, Home Office Minister for Crime Reduction.”
Ministry of Justice press release, 26th June 2007
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
More prisoners to be freed early – Daily Telegraph
“Thousands more convicts are to spend less time in jail as a result of law and order measures published by the Government yesterday.”
Daily Telegraph, 27th June 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Justice reforms focus on prostitution and jail numbers – The Guardian
“After nearly 200 years the stigmatising legal term “common prostitute” which dates back to the 1824 Vagrancy Act is to be removed from the statute book, under a package of criminal justice reforms unveiled yesterday.”
The Guardian, 27th June 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
3m crimes a year ‘left out of official figures’ – The Guardian
“A fresh row over the government’s crime statistics broke out last night after two criminologists said the authoritative British Crime Survey excludes 3 million offences a year.”
The Guardian, 26th June 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
New law will see 3,000 more being sent to jail – Sunday Times
“Thousands more criminals will be sent to prison as a result of laws expected to be announced this week, Whitehall officials have privately admitted.”
Sunday Times, 24th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Crime Bill may add to prison overcrowding – The Times
“Tony Blair’s final measures to tackle law and order are being threatened by a Cabinet dispute over fears that the Bill will fuel a further 3,000 rise in prison numbers.”
The Times, 26th May 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Crimes backlog four times worse – BBC News
“The number of serious offences committed by Britons abroad which the Home Office failed to record was four times higher than first thought”
BBC news, 23rd May 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Regina v. M; Regina v. Z; Regina v. I; Regina v. R; Regina v. B (No 2) – Times Law Reports
Later appeal decision prevails
Regina v. M; Regina v. Z; Regina v. I; Regina v. R; Regina v. B (No. 2)
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
“Where a judge at a preparatory hearing made a ruling which was overturned on appeal and a differently constituted Court of Appeal in a subsequent case held that the earlier case had been decided per incuriam, the judge was bound to follow the later decision in the interests of justice as a whole and because any rulings of law made at preparatory hearings had correctly to reflect the law which would govern the trial The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, so held when giving reserved reasons for dismissing on April 19 an interlocutory appeal by M, Z, I, R and B against a ruling made on April 4, 2007 by Judge Beaumont, QC, at the Central Criminal Court at a preparatory hearing under Part III of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 when he held that he was bound by the decision in R v Rowe ( The Times March 26, 2007) rather than another Court of Appeal’s decision in the first appeal of R v M and Others (unreported [2007] EWCA Crim 218) which was decided earlier.”
The Times, 17th May 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Judge criticises 21/7 trial delay – BBC News
“The judge in the 21 July trial has said a further delay has shown the criminal justice system in a ‘very poor light’.”
BBC News, 13th April 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
