News
Offensive Weapons Consultation
The Home Office will consult on various proposals regarding offensive weapons:
new offence of possession of a corrosive substance in public without a good or lawful reason will place the onus on the individual caught in possession to explain why they were carrying it, rather than on the police to prove that it was intended for use as a weapon
Poisons Act will also be reviewed with a view to including sulphuric acid on the list of restricted substances
restrict the online sale of knives so they cannot be delivered to a private residential address and must instead be collected at a place where age ID can be checked
amendments to threatening with a knife or offensive weapon offence to lower the standard of proof for prosecutors
moving two firearms (.50 calibre and certain rapid firing rifles) from the general licensing arrangements to the stricter provisions of section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968
updating the current legislation on the definition of flick knives
Sentences for Animal Cruelty to Increase
The Government are proposing to increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty offences, from six months to five years. New legislation will be drafted and published for consultation by the end of the year.
Counter-Terrorism Updates
The government intends to change the law, so that people who repeatedly view terrorist content online could face up to 15 years behind bars. The proposed changes will strengthen the existing offence of possessing information likely to be useful to a terrorist (Section 58 Terrorism Act 2000) so that it applies to material that is viewed repeatedly or streamed online.
The legal changes will also increase the maximum penalty from 10 to 15 years to reflect the seriousness of the offence and ensure perpetrators are locked up for longer.
The new maximum penalty of 15 years will also apply to terrorists who publish information about members of the armed forces, police and intelligence services for the purposes of preparing acts of terrorism (Section 58a of the Terrorism Act 2000).
Operation Conifer Report
The police have published a final report into the allegations that Sir Edward Heath committed sexual offences against children.
Changes to Criminal Online Copyright Infringement
The criminal law provisions relating to online copyright infringement have changed. The maximum sentence that can be levied is now ten years. This change brings the law in line with what is already available for physical copyright infringement.
An additional mens rea has also been introduced. It must now be proved that a person “knows, or has reason to believe that the act of infringement will cause loss to the owner of the right or expose the owner of the right to a risk of loss”.
This change has been made by section 32 of the Digital Economy Act 2017.
Cases
R v DS & Ors [2017] EWCA Crim 1410
Can a Court stop a prosecution (as an abuse of process) if it considers that the prosecution lacks a good reason for having charged public nuisance rather than a statutory alternative? The case concerned an illegal rave, called 'Scumoween', that took place at a privately-owned disused London Fire Brigade building.
Education
Introduction to Forensic Science - Online Course
Free online course exploring the methods underpinning forensic science, from crime scene investigation to assessing evidential value within a case.
Other
'DNA in the dock: how flawed techniques send innocent people to prison'
Many juries believe crime-scene DNA evidence is watertight – but this is far from the case. As forensic technology gets ever more sophisticated, experts are only just realising how difficult interpreting the evidence can be
BSB Consults on Bar Training
The BSB are seeking views on several areas of Bar training, including: the requirement to belong to an Inn, the qualifying sessions requirement, the minimum length of pupillage, and the minimum pupillage award.
Obscurity
Shaking a Carpet Before 8am
Until the Deregulation Act 2015 came into force, shaking a carpet in the street to the annoyance of residents before 8am was contrary to section 28 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847.