Issue 309  2nd September 2023

The reforms announced today (Wednesday 30 August) will create a new power for judges to order an offender to attend their hearings and make it clear – in law – that force can be used to make sure this happens. The power of custody officers to use reasonable force to make criminals appear in the dock or via video link will also be enshrined in law, meaning every effort will be made for victims and their families to see justice delivered.

If a criminal continues to resist attending their sentencing despite a judge’s order, they will face an extra 2 years behind bars. This new penalty will apply in cases where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment, including serious sexual or violent crimes like murder, rape, and grievous bodily harm with intent...

Judges will have the discretion to use these new powers as they see fit to ensure justice is done. This could include not ordering offenders to attend in cases where it is expected that they will cause significant disruption which would distress victims and their families. Legislation to introduce these changes will be set out in due course...

Society’s most depraved killers will face life behind bars with no chance of being released, under tough plans announced by the Prime Minister. Making sure that life means life, judges will be required to hand down mandatory whole life orders to the monsters who commit the most horrific types of murder.

In the latest move to protect the public from the most dangerous offenders, this will place a legal expectation on judges to hand down whole life orders, except in extremely limited circumstances. By putting this on a legal footing, judges will have greater confidence to hand out whole life orders without a risk of challenge in the Courts of Appeal... For the first time, whole life orders will also be the default sentence for any sexually motivated murders...The Government will legislate for the changes announced today in due course.

Police must investigate every theft and follow all reasonable leads to catch offenders, the home secretary has said. Suella Braverman said it was "completely unacceptable" that criminals are often "effectively free to break certain laws". She wants officers to use evidence from smart doorbells and dashcams to solve more lower-level crimes.

But the Police Federation of England and Wales said forces are already "stretched beyond human limits". There are also concerns the approach may take resources away from high-harm crimes such as rape and sexual assault. And Labour branded it a "staggering admission of 13 years of Tory failure on policing and crime".

Data shows that, in the year to March, just 4.4% of all theft offences resulted in someone being charged. New guidance on investigating such crimes is to be issued to all forces in England and Wales. It follows talks between the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs' Council - which is made up of senior officers from around the country - and the College of Policing, the professional body for policing staff...

Hundreds of victims of domestic abuse will be better protected as perpetrators who still pose a risk once they are released from prison will be made to wear electronic monitoring tags. Through the scheme, which will launch in the East and West Midlands, any offender who poses a threat to a former partner or their children can now be forced to wear an electronic tag, protecting victims from further trauma. Offenders who are tagged can be banned from going within a certain distance of a victim’s home, with the tags monitoring their whereabouts or making them abide by a strict curfew. Offenders who breach these rules face being returned to prison. Up to 500 prison leavers will, for the first time, be made to wear a GPS or curfew tag as part of an initial pilot which is expected to be rolled out across England and Wales next year...

In a move to ensure the public are getting the high level of professionalism and service they deserve from our police, speed up the process of removing rogue officers, and to restore confidence in forces, the government has unveiled a raft of changes to the rules governing officers’ disciplinary, vetting and performance processes.

The law will be changed to ensure all officers must be appropriately vetted during their service and to enable officers who fail a re-vetting test whilst in post to be sacked. Under the new system, a finding of gross misconduct will automatically result in a police officer’s dismissal, unless exceptional circumstances apply, speeding up the removal of officers not fit to serve. Chief constables (or other senior officers) will also be given greater responsibilities to decide whether officers should be sacked, increasing their accountability for their forces, and will now chair independent misconduct panels. An independent lawyer will continue to sit on the panel, providing independent advice and helping to maintain rigour, but in a supporting legally qualified person (LQP) position. The outcome will be determined by a majority panel decision, as it is now, and hearings will continue to be held in public to maintain transparency. Police chiefs will also be given a right to challenge decisions and there will be a presumption for former officers and special constables’ cases to be heard under fast-track procedures chaired by senior officers, cutting bureaucracy and saving taxpayers’ money, while making sure those failing to uphold standards are removed more swiftly...

The inquiry into circumstances around the horrific crimes committed by former neonatal nurse, Lucy Letby, will become statutory, the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay announced today (Wednesday 30 August). While statutory inquiries traditionally take longer to conclude than non-statutory inquiries, moving to a statutory footing will mean the inquiry will have legal powers to compel witnesses, including former and current staff of the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust, to give evidence. It will also mean that evidence must be heard in public, unless the inquiry chair decides otherwise...

In an update yesterday, HM Courts & Tribunals service revealed that Harrow Crown Court remains closed while reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) is removed and replaced. This will take anything from six to nine months. The news about Harrow broke last week but the issue of RAAC in public buildings has been thrust into the spotlight with the government’s announcement yesterday that more than 100 schools would have to close due to the issue. HM Courts & Tribunals Service said last week that an ongoing review of the estate had only found 2% of buildings with the same material. But the schools review is likely to increase concerns that RAAC could be discovered elsewhere and affected more court sites...