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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
Met Commissioner Resigns
Statement from Commissioner Cressida Dick: It is with huge sadness that following contact with the Mayor of London today, it is clear that the Mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue. He has left me no choice but to step aside as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. At his request, I have agreed to stay on for a short period to ensure the stability of the Met and its leadership while arrangements are made for a transition to a new Commissioner.
'This is a lie: Criminal bar accuses Raab over legal aid demand'
The lord chancellor was today accused of lying over the criminal bar’s demands to expedite his response on criminal legal aid reform. The Criminal Bar Association has said it will ballot members on action if the lord chancellor does not commit by Monday to substantially increase funding. In an article for The Times, Dominic Raab said rushing criminal legal aid reform would open the government up to legal challenges and result in further delays...
... The CBA issued a robust response to Raab’s ‘misleading article’ on Twitter in a series of posts. The association said the government has not been asked to infringe any public law principles. 'This is a lie. We have asked for a response to a report MoJ commissioned, and have had since the end of November'...
'Duty solicitor data lays bare looming crisis'
The number of duty solicitors under 35 has plummeted across England, according to data published by the Law Society today – prompting renewed calls for the government to implement the 15% funding increase recommended by an independent review immediately.
According to Chancery Lane, over 60% of duty solicitors in Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, East Sussex, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire are over 50. There are no criminal duty solicitors under 35 in Cornwall, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire, and only one in Norfolk, Shropshire, and Warwickshire. In 2018 nine counties had two or fewer duty solicitors under 35, which has now risen to 16.
'Apprenticeships for prisoners to cut crime'
Polling published last year found that nine out of ten businesses that hire ex-offenders say they are reliable, good at their job, punctual and trustworthy. Currently prisoners are unable to take advantage of apprenticeships, which would give them access to gold-standard training they can gain the skills needed to secure work on release - with evidence showing that prison leavers in work are significantly less likely to re-offend.
The government will change the law so that prisoners at open prisons across England are able to apply for apprenticeship opportunities in vital industries, including hospitality and construction , providing direct routes into jobs with businesses in the community. The scheme will initially be offered up to a hundred prisoners across England before being rolled out across the wider prison estate...
Other
'Fighting your corner: Criminal legal aid funding cannot wait'
Solicitor shortages, funding cuts and vanishing justice: criminal legal aid is in a precarious state. Richard Miller, head of justice at the Law Society, explains the first steps we’d like to see from the government to offer the justice system the support it urgently needs.
'Criminal barristers must be patient for legal aid reform'
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a torrid two years for our justice system — yet justice continues to be served. We were one of the first countries in the world to resume jury trials, and we are making real headway with the court backlog. That is down to the combined efforts of our judiciary, legal professions and court staff — so I am grateful to them for all their hard work, commitment and professionalism.
The strike action proposed by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) would only derail that team effort and I hope they will think again. The association has tried to insist that I bring forward our response to the Bellamy review into legal aid from the end of March to mid-February...