News
ULS Scheme Expanded to More Terrorism Offences
Nine terror offences have been added to the unduly lenient sentencing (ULS) scheme, which gives anyone the power to ask the attorney general to review a sentence. The nine include convictions for flouting terror prevention court orders and hoaxes involving noxious substances.
A table containing the list of additional offences can be found here.
'Briton Laura Plummer jailed in Egypt for drug smuggling'
A British woman has been convicted of smuggling 300 painkiller tablets into Egypt and jailed for three years. Laura Plummer, 33, was arrested after she was found with the Tramadol tablets in her suitcase, on 9 October. Plummer, from Hull, claimed the painkiller, legal on prescription in the UK but banned in Egypt, was to treat her Egyptian partner's back pain.
A blog post on the legal aspects of the story can be found here.
Shoplifters taking under £200 worth of goods 'not pursued'
The Association of Convenience Stores has warned that shoplifters are exploiting the lack of police resources available to investigate low-value shoplifting.
The issue has been linked to an amendment in 2014 which made theft constituting low-value shoplifting a summary-only offence.
Other
'The Observer view on miscarriages of justice'
Editorial on the recent disclosure failings and whether disclosure decisions should be taken away from the police.
Obscurity
Burglar
Ultimately the trail seems to lead back to the Latin "burgus" meaning "fortress or castle", which had, in Medieval Latin, produced the word "burgare", meaning "to commit burglary".