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A free weekly collection of criminal law links - for practitioners, law students, and anyone with an interest in the criminal justice system of England and Wales.
Curated by Sam Willis, a barrister at 5 King's Bench Walk.
News
'Parents could face bigger fines for child's crimes under youth justice shake-up'
Parents face tougher action if their children commit a crime, under plans to overhaul the youth justice system in England and Wales. The government is planning to strengthen and expand the use of Parenting Orders, which can compel parents or guardians to address their child's behaviour, including attending counselling or guidance sessions, or face penalties such as fines. A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) source said the government was proposing to increase the fine for breaching an order beyond the current maximum of £1,000, with new powers to jail parents in the most extreme cases. However, critics said engaging with parents on a voluntary basis was generally more effective. The proposal is among the measures set out in a Youth Justice White Paper, external, which was published by the government on Monday...
Courts are currently required to consider issuing a Parenting Order where a child under 16 has been convicted of an offence. They can also consider an order for 16 and 17-year-olds if they believe this would help prevent further offences. However, the MoJ said the use of Parenting Orders had declined dramatically, from more than 1,000 in 2009/10 to just 33 in 2022/23...
Other proposals include piloting new Youth Intervention Courts, bringing together judges, youth justice services and specialist support to help tackle the root causes of offending. The MoJ said the courts would provide intensive supervision and tailored interventions, including health or educational requirements, alongside close monitoring of compliance. There is also a focus on reducing the use of custodial sentences in favour of community sentences. The plan commits to ending "unnecessary" custodial remand for children, where someone is held in prison while they await trial of sentencing. The government is promising to reduce the practice by 25% before the next election to ensure children are not held unless public protection requires it. It said these measures could reduce the youth population in custody by 20%. Ministers will also explore strengthening Youth Rehabilitation Orders - community sentences given to children, which can include unpaid work, curfews, or a requirement to undertake treatment...
The government will also consult on reforming childhood criminal records, potentially ending lifelong disclosure requirements for childhood offences... Other measures include an extra £15.4m a year for the government's early intervention Turnaround programme...
'New high street unit set up in nationwide blitz on dodgy shops'
Organised crime gangs operating across Britain’s high streets will be hit with a major police offensive in a new nationwide crackdown on dodgy shops. Rogue barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops linked to organised crime will face raids, closures and cash seizures under a new £30 million crackdown targeting money laundering, tax evasion, and illegal working over 3 years...
£20 million of funding will go towards an enhanced law enforcement response, including establishing a new multi-agency co-ordination cell based out of the National Crime Agency (NCA). Police officers will also be uplifted across forces in hotspot regions. Altogether, 75 new police officers will be recruited across the NCA, Greater Manchester Police, West Midlands Police and a joint Kent Police and Essex Police Unit, to build intelligence at a national level and increase the number of dedicated officers tackling organised crime on the ground. Trading Standards will also be backed with £6 million in new funding to bolster the response to sham businesses in at-risk local authorities. New officer training will be rolled out to identify suspicious businesses, strengthen business compliance, and boost enforcement. A new High Street Organised Crime Unit has also been established to bring together government departments, policing partners, and Trading Standards. Together, the additional funding and new unit builds on strong enforcement action such as Operation Machinize, to boost the national and local response to targeting criminal networks operating in plain sight on Britain’s high streets...
'Public sector pay review body says not enough 'outstanding' or 'strong' judges being appointed'
The body that advises the lord chancellor on judicial salaries has recommended an above-inflation 3.8% pay rise - but voiced concern over the quality of judges being recruited to the bench. In its latest pay recommendation report, published yesterday, the Senior Salaries Review Body warned that a dwindling number of successful candidates rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘strong’ risked eroding the talent pipeline to senior office. The report reveals that the Judicial Appointments Commission has an internal assessment system for successful candidates. 'A' is outstanding, 'B' is strong and 'C' is appointable. During 2024-25, the number of candidates graded A/B was 54% - down from 64% the previous two years. The number of district judges (civil) graded A/B has hovered at around 39% since 2021-22, which the SSRB called a ‘concerning trend’. The 2025-26 recruitment campaign for circuit judges resulted in a record low of 51% of candidates being deemed A/B...
The report states that the 3.8% pay rise recommendation was made when inflation was falling towards the Bank of England’s 2% target. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice today announced a new Judicial and Legal Diversity Board to 'break down barriers' holding back judges from diverse backgrounds.
'Sentencing Council are seeking feedback on proposed guideline for using violence to secure entry'
The independent Sentencing Council is consulting on a proposed new guideline for the offence of using violence to secure entry. Using violence to secure entry is often committed in a domestic abuse context and can have a serious and long-lasting effect on victims, causing significant harm. Given this context, the Council have decided to consult on a dedicated guideline which reflects such circumstances. Consultees will be asked whether they agree with the proposed signposting of the Domestic abuse – overarching principles guideline as part of the consultation. They will also be asked to give feedback on proposed culpability and harm factors, the sentencing table and aggravating and mitigating circumstances... The consultation will run for 12-weeks from the 20 May to 14 August.
'Wrongly jailed Malkinson tells BBC: I've been cheated, very badly cheated'
Andrew Malkinson has called on the government to intervene after he was asked to deduct legal fees out of his compensation from being wrongfully convicted of rape. He estimates that he could also be asked to pay up to £10,000 for experts who helped launch his successful court challenge, describing the request for the payment of fees as "penny-pinching". "I think this is something [Justice Secretary] David Lammy could fix with the stroke of a pen tomorrow easily," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Malkinson served more than 17 years in prison for a brutal 2003 attack in Greater Manchester, in what became one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. "I don't know what the justification is but it doesn't make any sense at all to do that except to say obviously they are trying to claw back as much as possible," he said. "It's really wrong, it feels vindictive. Why doesn't the state, the perpetrator of the injustice, pay the costs for the experts and legal fees because they caused the damage, not me?"
In a statement, the Ministry of Justice told the BBC: "The miscarriage of justice compensation scheme is designed to help individuals rebuild their lives and last year, we increased the maximum compensation payable by 30% to £1.3 million. The Law Commission is currently consulting on the law relating to criminal appeals, including compensation for miscarriages of justice and we will carefully consider their findings."
'Unduly lenient' sentence for boys who 'raped for social media content' under urgent review'
The attorney general's office has received "multiple" requests to review the "lenient" sentences given to three boys following the rape of two girls after they were spared jail time... Southampton Crown Court heard two girls were raped in two separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, with the first attack taking place on 26 November 2024 and the second on 17 January 2025. The three teenagers, two aged 15 and one aged 14, were given youth rehabilitation orders (YRO) and the two older boys were also made subject to intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS)...
Cases
R v OFM [2026] EWCA Crim 599
This tragic case concerns the death of a child who died when she was just six months old. She was struck by a car which had been set in motion by the Respondent, OFM. He is identified by those randomly chosen initials so that this judgment can be published before the trial takes place. The issue on this appeal is whether there was evidence on which a properly directed jury could conclude that his acts in relation to the car amounted to “driving” it. The judge answered that question in the negative. The prosecution now appeals against the decision under section 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003...
…….There is no suggestion by the Applicant that the Respondent intended to drive or to move the vehicle in any way. The Respondent unlocked the car, and then opened the driver’s door. Intending to warm up the car by starting the engine, he put the key in the ignition and turned it. When the Respondent did this he was standing outside the car, leaning in. Apart from starting the ignition, he had no other interaction with the controls. Once the ignition was started, the movement of the car was captured on CCTV. …….From a standing start, it moved forward sharply under its own momentum (the wheels having stopped spinning). It moved out of its parking bay, across the driving lane of the carpark (a width of 5.93m), before colliding with the child’s stroller...
... We do not consider that the fact that the Respondent started the engine when he was in no position to control the consequences of that act by using the brake, clutch or steering wheel necessarily means that it was not an act of driving. He created a situation where he had started the engine of the car but could not control its movement because he had chosen to do this while standing on the pavement. He was the person who was able to control it, but chose to deprive himself of the means to do so. It would be open to the jury to conclude that the act of starting the engine of a car when standing on the pavement beside it was an act of driving, albeit, they may find, an act of bad driving. The reference in Ames and MacDonagh to “controlling the movement of the car” does not mean that a person must be exercising effective control over the car in order to be its driver. Otherwise, a careless driver of a car would cease to be the driver when they lost control of it...
... It seems to us, therefore, that the question for the jury in this case is whether they are sure that in switching on the ignition and starting the engine of the car the defendant did an act which amounts to “driving it”. In most cases the answer to that question would be that it does, because switching on the engine of a car is an act which involves control over its movement and is, in ordinary language, a necessary part of conduct which amounts to “driving”. The particular facts of this case may lead the jury to conclude that it did not in this case...
Other
'In depth: What's really ailing criminal justice'
On a Crown court visit, rebel MP Charlotte Nichols and bar chair Kirsty Brimelow heard about what’s really ailing criminal justice. It’s not jury trials...