Issue 300  1st July 2023

Abusers, predators and bitter ex-partners who share intimate images online without consent of those depicted will face jail time under new measures announced today (27 June 2023). New amendments to the Online Safety Bill will protect victims of so-called “revenge porn” by changing current laws which require the prosecution to prove that perpetrators shared sexual images or films in order to cause distress.

Removing the need for lawyers to prove the intention of distress will make it easier to charge and convict someone who shares intimate images without consent – putting more offenders behind bars and better protecting the public. Those found guilty of this base offence have a maximum penalty of 6 months in custody.

And where it is proven a perpetrator also intended to cause distress, alarm or humiliation, or to obtain sexual gratification, they could face a 2-year prison term. Offenders found guilty of sharing the image for sexual gratification could also be placed on the sex offender register...

Thousands of prisoners vulnerable to addiction, mental health issues or homelessness will no longer be released on Fridays as a new Bill to reduce reoffending becomes law today (29 June 2023)...

Around 1 in 3 leave custody on a Friday – giving them just a few short hours to access critical support, such as finding a bed for the night, registering with a GP and signing up with the job centre, before services shut for the weekend. The Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Bill received Royal Assent today and gives prison governors the power to release prisoners with mental health issues, substance misuse problems or who have far to travel home, on a Wednesday or Thursday instead. This will end the damaging race against the clock for prison leavers to get the help they need before many support services close for the weekend - which in turn increases their risk of reoffending and puts the public at risk. Research shows that an offender’s release day can make a difference to that person’s likelihood of reoffending, and those with stable accommodation lined up are 50 per cent less likely to commit further offences...

HM Courts & Tribunals Service has burnt through nearly the entire £1.3bn budget for a programme of court reform that is only just over halfway complete, the chair of the House of Commons public accounts committee said today. The cross-party group of MPs tasked with holding officials to account over public spending published its latest damning report on HMCTS’ court reform programme.

When the committee last examined the programme in 2019, HMCTS had already extended the time it expected to deliver the reforms twice – from four to six, then seven years. By November 2022, only 24 of its 44 projects had been completed. The overall timetable for most projects has now been extended to March 2024 – three months later than planned. The Common Platform project will be completed in March 2025 – over a year later than planned.//

On 1 July 2023, a number of new and revised guidelines from the Sentencing Council will come into effect...

Two guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of animal cruelty offences, reflecting changes introduced by Parliament in the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, will come into effect... Also coming into effect are 12 new and revised sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences. The guidelines include updated versions of six current guidelines – published in 2008 – and reflect new maximum sentences for some of the offences... The revised Totality guideline will also come into effect on 1 July...

Justice secretary Alex Chalk today confirmed that the government will not proceed with the Bill of Rights Bill, ending weeks of speculation about its potential demise. As widely expected, Chalk told the House of Commons during justice questions today that the proposed legislation had been abandoned. He told MPs: ‘Having carefully considered the government’s legislative programme in the round, I can inform the house that we have decided not to proceed with the bill of rights.’

Britain’s newest prison was opened officially today by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, with an innovative design to protect the public by cutting crime and rehabilitating offenders while boosting the local economy.

Prisoners at HMP Fosse Way, in Leicester, will spend their time in jail learning new skills and getting trained in vital industries so they can find work immediately when back in the community and plug labour gaps. This ethos has already been put into action with 71 prisoners and an ex-offenders employed in the construction of the new jail. With 24 workshops, and a large number of classrooms, skills learned by offenders will include how to drive construction vehicles in a simulator, manufacture glasses, and construct concrete components and lighting equipment that can be used in future prison builds...