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Possession of nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, will be illegal by the end of the year. The ban was promised as part of the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action...
A new offence of strangling/suffocation came into force on 7 June 2022, and we have previously written about the case of Cook [2023] EWCA Crim 452, which sets out comprehensive...
On Friday, 18 August 2023, the Jury returned its final verdicts in the trial of nurse Lucy Letby. Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies in her care and attempting...
It is prevalent for money laundering offences (under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002) to be charged alongside other alleged criminality, particularly drug offences. Whilst dealing with the monetary gains...
The Environment Agency is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of a great many regulatory and criminal offences. As an alternative to criminal prosecution financial sanctions can be imposed in...
The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 20th July 2023 and will come into force in 6 months’ time. The purpose of the Act is to prevent...
The Law Commission is the statutory independent body created by the Law Commissions Act 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review and to recommend reform where...
Homicide is the killing of one person by another. It accounts for a very small proportion of deaths each year in England and Wales; for the most recent five years...
Up to 12,000 prisoners in England and Wales at risk of being released homeless will be offered temporary housing for up to 12 weeks as part of the Community Accommodation...
A pre-sentence report is advice given to the court following the facts of the case, expert risks and needs assessments, including an independent sentencing proposal and additional relevant information. They...
The Sentencing Council has published 12 new and revised sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences in England and Wales. The new and revised guidelines, which apply to adults...
The Sentencing of young persons is one of the most complex judicial exercises, which must recognise the substantial differences between child and adult offending, particularly where an offender before the...
Many newspapers this week ran a headline in these or similar terms: ‘Trust in police hanging by a thread, inspectorate says.’ The impetus for this kind of comment was a...
Generally speaking, news of legal aid reform is met with some trepidation as it usually means even more people will be excluded from this critical safety net or the fees...
The Law Commission is tasked with keeping the law under review and this week presented a consultation paper discussing significant reforms to the trial of sexual offences, including rape. Why...
The government is backing new proposals to deter and punish rural crimes. The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill is a private members bill which has government support. It was introduced to...
Ipsos polling shows that more than 2 in 3 (67 %) of UK adults are worried about seeing content promoting or advocating self-harm while online. In 2021 the Law Commission...
An offence of non-fatal strangulation or suffocation was created by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and came in to force on 7 June 2022. CPS guidance on this offence states:...
It has been reported that Police in England and Wales are to be given new powers to tackle “disruptive” slow walking used by protesters to block roads. The new legislation...
The government is consulting on legislative measures to provide the police with more tools to disrupt knife possession and tackle knife crime. It has identified certain types of machetes and...
The advice hereconcerns ‘lethal barrelled’ air weapons – those with muzzle energy of more than 1 joule. Guns below this threshold, and qualifying ‘airsoft’ guns, are not regarded as firearms....
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Miscarriages of Justice has announced the launch of the Westminster Commission on Forensic Science. Over the next 18 months, a Westminster Commission inquiry, co-chaired by...
Domestic abusers who kill their partners or ex-partners will receive tougher sentences under government plans published this week. The law will be changed so a history of coercive or controlling...
The sentencing regime in the magistrates’ court is notoriously complex and about to change again following a government U-Turn. In May 2022, the government allowed magistrates to imprison an adult...
Updates to sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of child cruelty offences including causing or allowing death or serious injury in England and Wales, were published this week by the Sentencing...
PP sentences were introduced to prevent serious offenders being released when still a danger to the public. They were scrapped in 2012, but nearly 3000 people remain in prison under...
In 2022 the Law Commission was asked to clarify the current legal status of remote driving and consider possible reforms. The request came from the UK Government’s Centre for Connected...
The current Justice Secretary has long been on record as no fan of the Parole Board. A string of high-profile interventions, primarily unsuccessful, has led to new changes being announced,...
The Court of Appeal has issued guidance on whether it is ever appropriate to disqualify someone from driving a motor vehicle for the rest of their life. The Court was...
The issue of modern slavery and legal defences that might be available to those suspected of crime has occupied a great deal of judicial time over the last five years....
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