News
New Offence - Assault on Emergency Worker
People who attack the emergency services will be jailed for twice as long under a new law aiming to crackdown on the “national scandal” of abuse.
It will make it a criminal offence to assault workers including police, paramedics, firefighters, prison officers, search and rescue personnel and custody officers.
The current six-month maximum sentence for common assault will be doubled to a year for the new crime created by the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, which has today been given royal assent.
The text of the Act can be found here.
Stop and Search Consultation
The Home Office seeks views as to how effective and proportionate it would be to extend the power of reasonable grounds ‘stop and search’ to cover:
- the proposed offence of carrying a corrosive substance in a public under the Offensive Weapons Bill 2018
- the misuse of laser pointers to commit certain offences under the Laser Misuse (Vehicle) Act 2018
- the misuse of drones to commit certain offences under the Air Navigation Order 2016 and the Prisons Act 1952
The consultation closes on 22 October 2018.
Justice Secretary Unveils Victims Strategy
The Justice Secretary today set out how the government will ensure that support for victims - including those of violent offences such as terrorism and child sexual abuse - is aligned to the changing nature of crime, and boost services at every stage of the justice system.
The strategy sets out how the government will:
- consult on a revised Victims’ Code
- consult on a Victims’ Law to underpin the code, which will include strengthening the Victims’ Commissioner’s powers
- consult on the establishment of an Independent Public Advocate (IPA) to help bereaved families following a disaster
- review the entire Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
'Prison officers end mass walkout over inmate violence'
A mass walkout by prison officers in protest at conditions in jails in England and Wales could lead to an increase in violence rather than help address the crisis, the justice secretary, David Gauke, has said.
His comments came as the walkout, which began at 7am on Friday, was called off by the Prison Officers Association after talks with the prisons minister Rory Stewart.
Images posted on social media on Friday had shown walkouts at prisons across the country, including Manchester, Holme House in Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, Wymott in Lancashire, Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey, the Isle of Man and Low Newton in County Durham.
Cases
R v Welland [2018] EWCA Crim 2036
There was a time when a person accused of a crime in this country was not allowed to give evidence at his trial – in accordance with a principle that no one could be a witness who had an interest in the outcome of the case. But conceptions of criminal justice have changed. The bar to a defendant giving evidence was abolished in 1898 and since 1994 an adverse inference may generally be drawn if a defendant does not give evidence. The right of a defendant to give evidence in his own defence is now recognised to be an essential aspect of a fair trial. The main issue raised on this appeal is whether the appellant, who did not give evidence at his trial, was afforded a fair opportunity to do so in the particular circumstances of this case
Other
'Some calculations on the new Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme'
In the latest of a series of guest blogposts looking at the consultation on the proposed new Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme, a contributor has offered the following calculations and comments.