What is ‘substantial injustice’ for the purposes of a criminal case review? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Sapan Maini-Thompson is an LLM Candidate at University College London. On 14th November 2018 the Divisional Court gave judgment in a claim against the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in Regina (Anthony Davies) v The Criminal Cases Review Commission . This case was brought on behalf of a prisoner who contended that his conviction had become unsafe following the decision of the Supreme Court in R v Jogee [2016] UKSC 8 which recast the mens rea requirements in joint enterprise cases. The court dismissed the claim in a judgment which involved analysis of how the principles in Jogee are applied, and the circumstances in which the CCRC should re-open an old conviction. Jim Duffy of 1 Crown Office Row was the Junior Counsel for the Claimant.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 27th November 2018

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Jails are failing to get a grip on violence and drugs, says chief inspector – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 22nd, 2018 in drug abuse, news, prisons, reports, self-harm, suicide, violence by tracey

‘Britain’s jails are failing to get a grip on record levels of violence, suicides, self-harm and drug-taking which are all getting worse, the chief inspector of prisons warned yesterday.’

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

HMP Birmingham: ‘Signs of improvement’ at ‘worst’ prison – BBC News

Posted November 12th, 2018 in contracting out, news, prisons, reports, violence, violent offenders by tracey

‘A troubled prison that was taken over by the government is showing early signs of improvement, inspectors say.’

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BBC News, 12th November 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Self-harm and violent attacks in prisons hit record high as incidents rise by 20% in a year, figures show – The Independent

Posted October 26th, 2018 in news, prisons, self-harm, statistics, violence by tracey

‘Incidents of self-harm in jails across England and Wales increased to 49,565 in the year to June 2018, with the number of self-harming individuals up by 10 per cent, despite a reduction in the overall prison population.’

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The Independent, 25th October 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Hate crime linked to religion doubled in three years – Daily Telegraph

‘Hate crime has surged across the country, new figures have revealed, with those directed at people because of their religious beliefs doubling since 2015.’

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Daily Telegraph, 16th October 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Exeter prison condemned by inspectors for violence and drug use – The Guardian

Posted October 9th, 2018 in criminal justice, drug abuse, news, prisons, violence by tracey

‘The crisis-struck HMP Exeter prison, one of only four to have been subjected to special emergency action, is “very violent” and has overt drug use that is not regarded as exceptional by staff, according to inspectors.’

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The Guardian, 9th October 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sex offences rise by 16% on trains as railway crime surges – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 5th, 2018 in news, railways, sexual offences, statistics, violence, weapons by tracey

‘A sharp jump in violent and sexual offences has fuelled a 17% increase in crimes recorded on Britain’s railways, official figures show.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th October 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

HMP Bedford inmates ‘effectively control’ jail – BBC News

Posted September 14th, 2018 in health & safety, news, prisons, violence by tracey

‘Inmates have effectively taken control at a violent and vermin-infested prison, a watchdog has warned.’

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BBC News, 13th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Prisoners face fresh crackdown on drugs, violence and phones – The Guardian

Posted August 17th, 2018 in drug abuse, news, prisons, telecommunications, violence by sally

‘Prisoners are to face a fresh crackdown on drugs, violence and smuggled mobile phones as part of a £10m drive to turn around 10 of the worst-performing jails in England.’

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The Guardian, 17th August 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Youth fund doubled to £22m to aid violent crime prevention – The Guardian

Posted July 30th, 2018 in budgets, crime prevention, news, offensive weapons, violence, young persons by sally

‘The government is to double the funding for an early intervention scheme tackling violence among young people, as part of a “public health” approach to combatting knife crime and other offences.’

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The Guardian, 30th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Prisons squalid and dangerous due to staff cuts, report says – The Guardian

Posted July 12th, 2018 in health & safety, news, prison officers, prisons, reports, violence by sally

‘Prisoners in England and Wales are enduring some of the most disturbingconditions ever seen as violence and self-harm rockets due to stretched resources and staff shortages, the chief prisons inspector has said.’

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The Guardian, 11th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police to treat gangs like terror suspects with tough new laws – Daily Telegraph

‘Police will treat gang members like terrorism suspects if they use YouTube music videos to incite violence on the streets, under new proposals to tackle the soaring murder rates.’

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Daily Telegraph, 30th May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Metropolitan Police’s ‘racially discriminatory’ gangs database failing to tackle violence, report finds – The Independent

‘Scotland Yard is listing thousands of children and young men on a “racially discriminatory” database that is failing to tackle rising violence in London, a new report has found.’

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The Independent, 9th May 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

New taskforce to take action against violent crime – Home Office

Posted April 27th, 2018 in crime prevention, drug trafficking, press releases, violence by tracey

‘Home Secretary announces membership of new cross-party taskforce to take action against violent crime.’

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Home Office, 25th April 2018

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Self-harm and violent attacks hit record high in prisons across England and Wales – The Independent

Posted April 27th, 2018 in news, prisons, self-harm, statistics, violence by tracey

‘Self-harm and violent attacks have hit record levels in prisons across England and Wales as campaigners warn of a “system in crisis”. More than 11,600 prisoners harmed themselves in 2017 – a record high – and the number of separate incidents rose by 11 per cent to 44,600.’

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The Independent, 26th April 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Secretary to launch Serious Violence Strategy – Home Office

‘Home Secretary Amber Rudd today sets out a multi-million pound commitment to steering young people away from crime and tackling violent drug-dealing gangs.’

Full press release

Home Office, 9th April 2018

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Prisons watchdog demands action after 500 self-harm incidents in six months at young offenders’ institution – The Independent

Posted March 27th, 2018 in mental health, news, prisons, self-harm, violence, young offenders by tracey

‘Prison inspectors have demanded urgent action at a young offenders’ institution that saw more than 500 incidents of self-harm in just six months.’

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The Independent, 27th March 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Prison violence and gangs targeted by justice secretary – BBC News

Posted March 6th, 2018 in drug abuse, gangs, news, prisons, violence by sally

‘Measures to clamp down on violence and the smuggling of drugs, phones and weapons in prisons are to be unveiled by Justice Secretary David Gauke.’

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BBC News, 6th March 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge rejects challenge to removal of description in register of political parties – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 15th, 2018 in incitement, local government, news, political parties, violence by sally

‘A High Court judge has dismissed a legal challenge brought by the English Democrats to a decision by the Electoral Commission to remove one of 12 descriptions included in the party’s entry in the register of political parties for Great Britain.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th February 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Twitter suspends Britain First leaders as it enforces new anti-abuse rules – The Guardian

Posted December 19th, 2017 in freedom of expression, incitement, internet, news, violence by sally

‘Twitter has suspended the accounts of the leader and deputy leader of Britain First, a far-right group recently retweeted by Donald Trump, under the terms of its revised anti-abuse rules.’

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The Guardian, 18th December 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com