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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
'Government to consider scrapping short jail terms'
Scrapping short prison terms is among a number of ideas set to be considered by an upcoming government review of sentencing. Ministers are interested in proposals to toughen up community orders as an alternative to jail, to reduce the number of offenders in prisons. David Gauke, a former justice secretary and Conservative MP, is the frontrunner to head the work, the BBC has been told by multiple sources. The review will be announced later this month and is expected to make recommendations to ministers next spring. As justice secretary in 2019, Gauke said there was a strong case for scrapping jail terms of less than six months. The BBC has approached Gauke for comment.
Shabana Mahmood, the current justice secretary, is known to want to toughen community sentences, which could involve strict conditions and punishments but no time behind bars. Several government sources pointed to advances in technology, such as sobriety tags monitoring alcohol use, that could be used more widely to detain criminals in their homes. One source argued community orders could be tougher than prison because those convicted could not “mong out for 23 hours a day on drugs”. Ministers are also exploring international examples of reducing crime in Texas and Louisiana, where prisoners can reduce their sentences by earning credits for good behaviour. Officials also pointed to New York, where offenders convicted of drug-related crimes can be sent on a treatment programme. If they complete it, they can have their charges dismissed or reduced. It comes as prisons across the country are struggling to deal with overcrowding after the number of offenders behind bars hit a record high...
'Publish legal aid advisory board's report published before budget, criminal bar tells government'
The Ministry of Justice has been in possession of judge-led advice on the state of criminal legal aid for two months, the Criminal Bar Association has revealed – as tension over how long the government is taking to announce its position on fees reaches boiling point. In her latest weekly update, CBA chair Mary Prior KC revealed that the Ministry of Justice received a report from the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board two months ago and called for its publication before the budget on 30 October.
The board was set up to advise the lord chancellor on the operation and structure of existing and future criminal legal aid schemes, and to assess how the schemes should adapt to support the criminal justice system and wider objectives of the legal profession. Prior said: ‘We need the CLAAB report and the [Crown court] statistics from the MOJ and HM Courts & Tribunals Service which have now also been delayed for half a year so that those making decisions can do so with the full knowledge of the impact that their decisions may make on the criminal justice system.’ The association is surveying members on potential next steps...
'G7 nations agree new plan to dismantle migrant smuggling gangs'
The Home Secretary has today (4 October 2024) agreed a major international plan to smash criminal gangs responsible for smuggling illegal migrants into G7 nations. The G7 Anti-Smuggling Action Plan will deliver a boost to UK law enforcement by fostering closer cooperation with G7 partners to bolster border security, combat transnational organised crime, and protect vulnerable individuals from exploitation by migrant smugglers.
New joint investigative actions will be carried out by law enforcement teams to target criminal smuggling routes, while intelligence sharing between G7 nations will ensure faster identification and disruption of these dangerous networks. This approach will enhance the capabilities of the Border Security Command and its new Commander Martin Hewitt CBE QPM in coordinating investigations with international partners to reduce illegal migration to the UK.
Other measures announced in the plan include:
- sharing best practice, including disrupting supply chains that facilitate people-smuggling, such as small boat parts, seizing the illegal financial assets of criminals, and improving cooperation across global transport routes
- working with social media platforms and internet providers to remove harmful content that promotes illegal migration services or advertises fake job opportunities
- strengthening capabilities to monitor and anticipate irregular migration flows at both global and regional levels...
Other
'My brother may die in jail after a two and a half year sentence'
An RAF veteran says his brother may die in jail, despite his sentence having a tariff of just two-and-a-half years. Roddy Russell has supported his brother Rob since 2009, when he was jailed for making a threat to kill. But 15 years later, Rob, from the Forest of Dean, is still in prison because of the indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) he was given. The government said it is working to ensure the "appropriate course of action is taken to support those still serving [IPPs]"...
R v Virginia McCullough - Sentencing Remarks
In June 2019 you murdered your father, John McCullough, and your mother, Lois McCullough. You have pleaded guilty to each of those offences... From March 2019 you started to contemplate killing both of your parents. You say that was because you felt trapped and you wanted to be free from them. The reality is that you were trapped only by your own dishonest behaviour. You must have appreciated that it was only a matter of time before your thefts and dishonesty would be discovered... For 4 years and 3 months after you had murdered your parents, you pretended that they were still alive. That started right from the day of their deaths...
In the present case, a whole life order is the starting point. Having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including your immediate admissions to the police and your guilty pleas when you were first arraigned, this is not one of those cases of the most exceptional seriousness where a whole life order, as a sentence of last resort, is required. I therefore impose a minimum term order... I impose a minimum term of 36 years less the time you have spent on remand.