About
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
New Year Honours
The award of a damehood to the director of public prosecutions who oversaw the disclosure scandal in sex-offence cases has been condemned as a “reward for failure”. Dame Alison Saunders, 58, became the first holder of the post for more than 25 years not to receive the honour immediately when she stood down amid criticism last year. She was condemned by MPs for failing to get to grips with the omission by police and prosecutors to disclose evidence in rape and sexual offence cases. A review found that 47 such cases had been halted because material had not been shared with defence lawyers.
Dame Alison is appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath, the fourth most senior order of chivalry.
Social Media Encryption
I welcome the opportunity to provide a written testimony on behalf of the United Kingdom Government in support of the Judiciary Committee United States Senate hearing: “Encryption and Lawful Access: Evaluating Benefits and Risks to Public Safety and Privacy”.
In this statement I set out the UK Government’s policy position in relation to targeted law enforcement and intelligence agency access to encrypted communications. In doing so, I hope to achieve three things. First, to make clear why this is such an important issue for the UK Government, highlighting the very significant impact on our law enforcement and intelligence agencies where companies design their services in such a way that they cannot access the content of communications, even in relation to the most serious crimes. Second, to demonstrate that our position on this issue is balanced and underpinned by strong legislation and reasonable policies. Third, to address a number of misconceptions about how our approach relates to cyber security and privacy.
Cases
R v PS [2019] EWCA Crim 2286
These three cases, otherwise unconnected, raise issues about proper approach to sentencing offenders who suffer from autism or other mental health conditions or disorders...
We nonetheless point out that although there is as yet no overarching principles guideline, the mental health of the offender is a factor which sentencers are required to consider at Step 1 or Step 2 of the process set out in offence-specific guidelines...
It will be apparent from all of the above that sentencing an offender who suffers from a mental disorder or learning disability necessarily requires a close focus on the mental health of the individual offender (both at the time of the offence and at the time of sentence) as well as on the facts and circumstances of the specific offence. In some cases, his mental health may not materially have reduced his culpability; in others, his culpability may have been significantly reduced. In some cases, he may be as capable as most other offenders of coping with the type of sentence which the court finds appropriate; in others, his mental health may mean that the impact of the sentence on him is far greater than it would be on most other offenders...
Other
'Introduction to police powers - Commons Library briefing'
This briefing provides an overview of the powers of police personnel. It discusses which police personnel have powers and the three categories of police powers: powers to investigate and prevent crime and powers to 'dispose' of criminal cases.
'Policing in the UK - Commons Library briefing'
This briefing discusses the key legislation for the governance of police services, how police forces work, including when they work together, how they organise their staff and how they are overseen.
'Police detention powers - Commons Library briefing'
This research briefing describes police detention powers and outlines a recent history of their reform. It describes the police custody estate and concerns with pre-charge bail.
'Policing of protests - Commons Library briefing'
This research briefing provides an overview of the current legislation and guidance relevant to the policing of protests, commentary on recent changes in this area and a discussion about calls for further reform