Issue 108  21st September 2019

Under plans confirmed by ministers today (17 September 2019), the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme will be extended to 14 new offences – giving victims the power to query the sentences of a wider range of crimes.

The Government has agreed to extend the scheme to the following offences:

• Abuse of position of trust: sexual activity with a child (s.16, Sexual Offences Act 2003),
• Abuse of position of trust: causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity (s.17, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
• Abuse of position of trust: sexual activity in the presence of a child (s.18, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
• Abuse of position of trust: causing a child to watch a sexual act (s.19, Sexual Offences Act 2003) Inciting a child family member to engage in sexual activity (s.26, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
• Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice (s.30, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
• Causing or inciting a person, with a mental disorder impeding choice, to engage in sexual activity (s.31, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
• Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a person with a mental disorder impeding choice (s.32, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
• Causing a person, with a mental disorder impeding choice, to watch a sexual act (s.33, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
• Possession of indecent photograph of a child (Criminal Justice Act 1988, s.160)
• Taking, possessing, distributing, publishing Indecent Photographs of Children (s.1 Protection of Children Act 1978)
• Harassment: putting people in fear of violence (s.4, Protection from Harassment Act 1997)
• Stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress (Protection from Harassment Act 1997, s.4A, Protection from Harassment Act 1997)
• Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an Intimate or Family Relationship (s.76, Serious Crime Act 201,).

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has committed to an annual review of prosecution fees for the first time, having struck a deal with the criminal bar earlier this year.

In her weekly message to members, chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) Caroline Goodwin QC said: ‘I am delighted to report to you that the CPS [has] committed to an annual review of fees. We have never had anything like this or approaching this before. It is very much to the credit of all around the table that this has been achieved, particularly when we look at the parlous state that the government is in.’

A Home Office funded trial will take place in Stratford station, East London, as part of the government’s continued drive to crack down on knife crime. The specialised technology, made by British company Thruvision, can safely detect weapons including guns, knives and explosive devices concealed under clothing at distances of up to 30 feet.

It works by revealing objects concealed in clothing that block a person’s body heat. By using training and experience police officers will be able to identify objects that could be used as a weapon, without needing physical searches. The technology is already used on the Los Angeles Metro. The initial 5 day trial will be run by British Transport Police, with support from the Metropolitan Police.

A £30 million funding boost will equip law enforcement with pioneering new tech and capabilities to track down more paedophiles operating online and safeguard children who have been abused, the government has announced today.

To tackle this threat, further investment will be made in the UK’s world-leading Child Abuse Image Database (CAID), a resource that provides law enforcement agencies with effective tools to search seized devices for indecent images of children, reducing the time taken to identify illegal images of children and increasing the ability to identify victims. The new funds being made available will explore adding enhanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to the system, including voice analytics and age estimation. The government has also announced it will be co-hosting a major child sexual abuse summit in December in Africa to drive the international response.

The Home Secretary has today (Wednesday 18 September) announced Nicole Jacobs as the designate Domestic Abuse Commissioner. Ms Jacobs was the former Chief Executive Officer at charity Standing Together Against Domestic Violence and has more than two decades of experience working to reduce domestic abuse. The role of Domestic Abuse Commissioner will lead on driving improvements on the response to domestic abuse in the UK, championing victims and making recommendations on what more should be done to better protect victims and bring more offenders to justice.