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
'Prime Minister launches retail crime crackdown'
Serial or abusive shoplifters will face tougher punishments as the Prime Minister sets out tough new action to crack down on retail crime and protect UK highstreets. Assaulting a retail worker will be made a standalone criminal offence, sending a clear message that there will be tough consequences for this unacceptable behaviour. Perpetrators could be sent to prison for up to 6 months, receive an unlimited fine and be banned from going back to the shop where they committed their crimes, with criminal behaviour orders barring them visiting specific premises...
Ahead of this legislation coming in, the government will partner with a police force to pilot a bespoke package of community sentencing measures which can be used by judges to tackle high levels of shoplifting, sending a clear message that repeat criminality will not be tolerated.
The government is also ramping up the use of facial recognition technology to help catch perpetrators and prevent shoplifting in the first place. Backed by a £55.5 million investment over the next 4 years, the police will be able to further roll this new state of the art technology. This will include £4 million for bespoke mobile units that can be deployed to high streets across the country with live facial recognition used in crowded areas to identify people wanted by the police – including repeat shoplifters. The mobile units will take live footage of crowds in towns and on high streets, comparing images to specific people wanted by the police or banned from that location. Police in the area will then be alerted so they can track down these offenders.
'Tough new measures to bolster landmark victims’ law'
Victims of serious crimes committed by those with mental disorders will be able to explain in their own words the impact the offence has had on them, thanks to tough new amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill. New measures will mean survivors are provided with the opportunity to make a Victim Impact Statement during the Mental Health Tribunal process, which takes places before offenders are released and allows survivors to request release conditions.
The police and other criminal justice agencies will also be placed under greater scrutiny through a new statutory duty, which will mean they have to not only inform victims of their rights under the Victims’ Code – but deliver services in accordance with it...
The Home Office is also tabling an amendment which will make it mandatory for the police to notify schools and colleges when they believe a child may be a victim of domestic abuse, so that they can provide support at the earliest possible opportunity...
Further amendments to the bill tabled by the government include:
- a requirement to consult the Victims’ Commissioner on all changes to the Victims’ Code, to ensure measures are in the best interests of victims of crime
- a requirement for ministers to review agencies’ compliance with the Code to publish public non-compliance notifications to tackle severe and persistent issues, ensuring no agency can hide if they are not providing victims with the support they deserve
- a duty for ministers to publish an annual report on compliance with the Victims’ Code
- clarification that confidentiality clauses cannot be legally enforced if they prevent victims from reporting a crime and will ensure information related to criminal conduct can be disclosed to support services without fear of legal action
'Alan Bates considers private prosecutions of Post Office bosses'
Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates says he will consider raising funds for private prosecutions of Post Office bosses over the Horizon IT scandal. He told the BBC he would act if the authorities did not take cases forward. "It was fine when the Post Office brought private prosecutions, so if we've got to do it in return so be it", he said. More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for shortfalls caused by faulty Horizon software.
Former Royal Mail and Post Office executives, who were in charge when sub-postmasters and mistresses were being falsely accused, told an inquiry into the scandal this week that they did not realise what had been happening at the time. Mr Bates, who led the campaign for justice after he was sacked for discrepancies in his accounts, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he wanted clarity about the remit of the inquiry. "We heard from many lawyers along the way that there does seem to be quite a number of cases for people to answer," he said. "I know there's financial redress for the individuals in there but they also want to see people held to account in all of this. "As I understand it, the inquiry as it now stands is not going to make that type of recommendation [to prosecute]. "Perhaps MPs should consider changing the remit to include that type of recommendation if it's not there in the first instance." In comments first made to the Times, he said he would consider crowdfunding for private prosecutions against former Post Office bosses - similar to the mechanism used by the organisation against sub-postmasters it accused of stealing...
Cases
Molina, R (On the Application Of) v Crown Court at Snaresbrook [2024] EWHC 816 (Admin)
This is the judgment of the court. In these proceedings the claimant seeks judicial review of the determinations of HHJ Dean ("the judge") sitting at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 15 November 2022 that: (i) the court had jurisdiction to determine the prosecution's appeal to the granting of bail to the claimant by Barkingside Magistrates' Court and (ii) allowing the appeal and remanding the claimant in custody...
We have considered the evidence presented to this court (paras 5 – 14 above) as to events in the magistrates' court and are satisfied that in those proceedings the claimant did not receive written notice of the prosecution's intention to appeal as required by section 1(5) of the 1993 Act. We are satisfied that such oral notice of an intention to appeal as was given by the prosecution advocate was directed to the legal adviser of the justices, who considered it necessary to "mouth" the fact of an appeal to the claimant's solicitor. We are also satisfied that the less than clearly audible oral notice as given by the prosecution advocate was not heard by the Serco staff nor the claimant, who was released within a short time by the Serco personnel as a result of their honest belief that there were no legal grounds to detain him. It is undisputed that written notice of appeal was not served upon the claimant and that no application was made pursuant to CrPR 4.10 for a direction from the court that service of the written notice of appeal could be effected upon his legal representatives. Also undisputed is the fact that pursuant to section 1(7) of the 1993 Act, the justices formally disposed of the appeal as no written notice had been given by the prosecution...
Accordingly, and for the reasons given, we grant judicial review upon the three grounds of challenge. We are satisfied that the judge did exceed her jurisdiction in determining the prosecution's purported appeal against the grant of bail to the claimant. We accept that the judge erred in law in deciding that the matter was properly before the Crown Court because oral notice had been given and written notice served. We are also satisfied that the judge erred in law in deciding, in any event, that the Crown Court was seized of the matter because the case had been listed before it...
R v Hendron [2024] EWCA Crim 338
The facts of this case are unique. It is to be hoped that remains the case... The two features of this case which are both unusual and very serious are these: (1) This criminality was perpetrated by a member of the Bar who had in the past been convicted of drug-related crimes but had not been disbarred for that conduct. Consequently he was permitted to continue in practice as a barrister. (2) The individuals from whom he was encouraging to supply drugs to him, were prisoners on remand, both of whom were being represented by the appellant in criminal proceedings...
First, it is right to observe there are no guidelines of the Sentencing Council for an offence under section 44 of the Serious Crime Act 2007. The gravamen of that crime is the fact that an offender has committed an act which is capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence and the offender intended so to do. By reference to section 58(3) of the 2007 Act, the offender is liable to the same maximum penalty of the "anticipated or referenced offence". In other words the maximum sentence of the crime which he encouraged another to commit. It would therefore be a difficult, if not impossible, exercise for the Sentencing Council to devise a crime-specific guideline given the variability of maximum sentences...
It is our judgment the judge was correct to view the supply guideline as the key to sentencing in this case. The appellant plainly encouraged the two men in prison, whom he knew to be drug peddlers, to supply him with drugs. He thus encouraged supply of drugs. The fact it was to himself was a factual matter of potential importance but not in relation to the guideline to be utilised to commence the search for the right sentence. The judge in this case placed the case in Category 4 for the lead offending and determined the role was analogous to a lesser role, giving a starting point of 18 months' imprisonment up to three years' imprisonment...
Education
'Bar Council opposes removal of degree requirement in Bar Standards Board's proposed reforms'
The Bar Council has opposed the removal of the degree requirement in its response to the Bar Standards Board’s planned training reforms. It has opposed three of the four proposed reforms as it would ‘lower standards’, make an assessment of standards difficult, and ‘transfer decisions away from the BSB to training providers’ with a ‘clear financial interest’. The council said it was ‘broadly neutral’ on a proposal about changing the definition of academic legal training.
In its response, the Bar Council said it was ‘strongly of the view’ that the regulator should set the qualification requirements and retain any decision-making power regarding those qualifications, including exemptions. It also disagreed with the proposal that authorised education and training organisations make admissions decisions based on the revised definition of academic legal training. In answer to the proposal to no longer require a minimum 2:2 degree as a standard, the Bar Council said it should remain the minimum threshold for progression to vocational training. It added a degree classification was ‘highly indicative of successful outcomes for prospective barristers’. Some 96% of those who obtained pupillages in 2022-23 obtained either a first-class degree or a 2:1...
Other
'Bucking the trend: with many problems in our prisons, what makes some jails safer and more effective than others?'
These are challenging times to live and work in prisons, with rising drugs, violence and self-harm and overcrowded, squalid conditions in many jails. Reoffending rates remain stubbornly high, at almost 37%, and the proportion of prisoners recalled to prison is 13% higher than it was a year ago. Amidst these pressures, most prisons are struggling to provide any kind of activity to reduce the likelihood that people will end up back inside. Yet a small number of prisons are safe and calm, and have created more positive cultures that encourage prisoners to take part in employment and education that should help them to secure employment on their release. A new report, Improving behaviour in prisons, by HM Inspectorate of Prisons has explored what these prisons have in common, and what learning there may be for other prisons...
The report, which drew on fieldwork in eight prisons, found a number of common features underpinning more positive cultures. These included setting very clear rules and boundaries for prisoners, with a shift in the focus of behaviour management strategies to reward rather than punishment. For example, prisoners were motivated by and would work hard to earn extended family visits or the possibility of moving to a better wing with more privileges. Work and education opportunities with clear links to life after release from prison also encouraged them to take part, with the Halfords workshop at Drake Hall prison extremely popular with women as it offered good chances of well-paid employment on release. Taking up peer worker roles gave prisoners responsibility, helped them to develop confidence and leadership skills, and created a sense of community that in turn encouraged more positive behaviour.