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
‘Barristers warn of strain on defendants after Caroline Flack death’
The death of the Love Island presenter Caroline Flack has prompted questions about the way the justice system deals with allegations of domestic abuse and the strains imposed on defendants. Experienced criminal barristers said delays to trials might be adding to stress and called for more to be done to support those facing trial.
Flack’s death comes amid a debate over the handling of domestic violence cases by severely understaffed police and prosecutors. There have been frequent criticisms of how the justice system allows manipulative partners to deter victims from giving evidence against them in court.
‘CPS Says: the role of the CPS in deciding whether to charge an individual with a criminal offence’
We have been asked questions about the role of the CPS in deciding whether to charge an individual with a criminal offence. The following information explains our role and approach. It is not a comment on any individual case. The CPS does not investigate allegations of crime, or choose which cases to consider. CPS prosecutors must review every case referred to us by the police, or other investigators. We provide expert legal advice early in investigations to help build strong cases, or identify where a suspect should not be charged.
We do not decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence - that is for the jury, judge or magistrate - but we must make the key decision of whether a case should be put before a court. Every charging decision is based on the same two-stage test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors...
‘Housing Secretary confirms new support for survivors of domestic violence’
Councils are being given a boost to provide essential, life-saving support in safe housing for survivors of domestic abuse and their children, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed today (17 February 2020). Seventy-five projects across England will share over £16 million, helping up to 43,000 survivors have access to the help they need as they move towards a safe future, free from domestic abuse. The new funding will enable victims and their children to stay safe, recover from the trauma, and access safe permanent rehousing where needed.
‘Internal Whitehall shakeup discussions could see Ministry of Justice scrapped’
A Whitehall shakeup could see the Ministry of Justice scrapped and some of its powers moved to the Home Office, the Daily Telegraph understands. Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, is expected to be given responsibility for sentencing in the Ministry of Justice, a government source told the Telegraph. The move would be seen as a first step in a Whitehall shakeup to take sentencing and possibly probation out of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) altogether and given to the Home Office. Mr Malthouse was described as a “lynchpin” of the plans by a source close to the discussions. “The long term aim is to merge the Home Office with elements of the MoJ.”
‘ICO says Metropolitan Police have complied with Gangs Matrix enforcement notice’
The ICO has recently said that it is satisfied that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has complied with its 2018 enforcement notice concerning the Gangs Matrix, following the deletion of 374 entries on the database.
The Met said: “An enforcement notice was served on the Metropolitan Police Service by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in November 2018, following its review of the Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM). This notice relates to the contravention of data protection principles. We are obliged to comply with the findings. We assert that the rationale to continue to use and to operate the GVM is compliant with the Human Rights Act and it is monitored to ensure that it is used proportionately and fairly to reduce serious crime in London."
Cases
R v Baker & Ors [2020] EWCA Crim 176
The central issue that arises on these conjoined appeals is whether it was lawful for the judges to pass extended sentences, given both men were serving indeterminate sentences in relation to unrelated criminal proceedings, having been recalled to prison (Baker under an IPP and Richards under a life sentence). Both men were subject to provisions prohibiting their release until the Parole Board is satisfied they pose no risk to the public. Mr Southey Q.C., on behalf of both appellants, argues that either the statutory test was not met for an extended sentence or it would have served no legitimate purpose. He contends, therefore, that there was either no power to impose an extended sentence or that it involved an impermissible exercise of discretion. In summary, he submits that the purpose of the extension period is to provide protection when the licence period that would result from a determinate sentence is inadequate, and given the appellants had been recalled to prison, it is difficult – indeed, impossible – to conjecture how the extension period would provide additional protection...
In summary, therefore, it is necessary in these circumstances for a judge to consider whether it is appropriate to impose an extended sentence, without taking into account the fact that the defendant has been recalled on licence and ignoring the delayed early release provisions.