With effect from 27th June 2022, barristers in England & Wales will be taking industrial action in order to protest against what they see as the deteriorating state of the criminal justice system. A form of action, known as “no return” is already in place, but further measures are being taken in order to force… Continue reading Barristers’ Strike Action
It has been a busy week for new policy announcements, with these coming from the Ministry of Justice in the last few days. Prison leavers tagged to cut alcohol-fuelled crime Prison leavers will be ordered to wear a sobriety tag, which monitors alcohol levels in sweat, if their probation officer thinks… Continue reading New Criminal Justice Initiatives
Over the last two years, over 70 X-ray body scanners have been installed in all closed male prisons, producing high-quality images of concealed contraband so that prison officers can easily find and stop dangerous items from entering jails. These scanners have prevented over 19000 attempts to smuggle contraband into prison wings, including one substantial haul… Continue reading New airport-style security in prisons sees record level of drug seizures
The Sentencing Council has this week published revised sentencing guidelines for a number of sexual offences. These new guidelines will apply to those sentenced on or after 31 May 2022, and in one case to those sentenced on or after 1 July 2022. Which offences are covered by these changes? The revisions cover: Arranging… Continue reading Sentencing Guidelines for Sexual Offences
The Home Office has published a report that summarises information from domestic homicide reviews (DHR) from October 2019 to 2020. The reviews are multi-agency reviews that are commissioned by community safety partnerships. They look into the deaths of adults that may have resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by a related person, someone they were… Continue reading Domestic Homicide
The College of Policing has published a guide to the use of live facial recognition technology. The guide is intended to ensure a consistent approach across forces with a clear legal and ethical framework. The College sets out five aims for the guidance: – live facial recognition (LFR) technology should be used in a… Continue reading Facial Recognition Technology
The Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, has announced a reform package for the parole system. A “Root and Branch” review focussed on the following areas: An evaluation of the parole reforms to date – looking at overall performance, the response to the pandemic, the effectiveness of the reconsideration mechanism and any rule changes that would further… Continue reading Parole Reform
