News
Crime Statistics Released
Knife crime has hit a new record in England and Wales as the latest statistics show violence continuing to soar and the number of cases solved falling.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said police recorded 39,332 knife offences, the highest number on record and an annual increase of 12 per cent in the year to June 2018.
In the same period, overall violence rose by 19 per cent to almost 1.5 million crimes, homicide increased by 14 per cent and robbery by 22 per cent.
Sex Abuse Leaflets
Police are giving leaflets to people at risk of committing child sexual exploitation crimes, asking for their behaviour to stop, the BBC has found. The "C5 notices" - used by Hampshire Police when there is not enough evidence to charge - explain the law to recipients.
The leaflets have been issued by Hampshire Police 54 times since their introduction in November 2016, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has learned. A total of 52 were given to men with 34 handed to people aged 25 and under. The force said the notices were used in cases where officers did not have enough evidence to charge a person with an offence, but were still concerned about their sexual behaviour. One example given was of a woman who was reported to police after 15 and 16-year-old boys were seen in her flat.
Dangerous Dogs Report
The current approach to dog control is plagued with deep structural problems. Improvements to public safety that simultaneously safeguard animal welfare can only be achieved through an open-minded engagement with new strategies. This will require time, commitment and political courage. To this end, we call on the Government to:
- immediately remove the prohibition on transferring a banned dog if it has been behaviourally assessed by experts and found to be safe. This would prevent the needless destruction of friendly animals that could be safely re-homed;
- commission a comprehensive review of existing dog control legislation and policy, with a view to developing an alternative model that focuses on prevention though education, early intervention, and consistently robust sanctions for offenders;
- ensure all future strategies are developed with a full and transparent commitment to evidence-based policy-making. If the independent evidence review concludes there is insufficient evidence to support the Government’s position on Breed Specific Legislation, this aspect of the law should be revised;
- introduce mandatory training and education courses for minor dog offences, similar to speed awareness courses for drivers;
'Fracking protesters walk free after court quashes 'excessive' sentences'
Three protesters jailed for blocking access to a fracking site have walked free after the court of appeal quashed their sentences, calling them “manifestly excessive”.
Simon Blevins, 26, Richard Roberts, 36, and Rich Loizou, 31, were sent to prison last month after being convicted of causing a public nuisance with a protest outside the Preston New Road site near Blackpool, Lancashire. Blevins and Roberts were sentenced to 16 months and Loizou to 15 months.
But on Wednesday afternoon the court of appeal ruled their sentences were inappropriate and they should be freed immediately. Soon after, the trio walked free from Preston prison, where they were greeted with hugs and cheers from dozens of supporters.
'Judge threatened to put girl, 14, in cells if she cried in court'
A judge told a 14-year-old girl that she would be put in the cells if she cried during her mother’s trial.
Judge Stephen John has been criticised by the Court of Appeal for threatening the teenage daughter of Natasha Myers that if she showed any reaction in court she would be arrested.
Myers was at Kingston Crown Court for smuggling phones, sim cards, chargers and a small amount of cannabis into Wandsworth prison during a visit to her boyfriend David Akende.
Anjem Choudary Released On Licence
Radical preacher Anjem Choudary, jailed for inviting support for the Islamic State group, has been released. The cleric was sentenced in 2016 to five and a half years in prison. He led an extremist network linked to violent jihadists, including one of the killers of soldier Lee Rigby in 2013.
He will be in a probation hostel for six months, the BBC understands. The conditions he must obey include: A ban from preaching at or attending certain mosques, He will only be allowed to associate with people who have been approved by the authorities, He will be allowed one phone and is banned from using an internet-enabled device without permission, Use of the internet will be supervised, He cannot travel outside Greater London's M25, He will not be able to leave the UK without permission.
Cases
Caine, R (On the Application Of) v Crown Court At Southampton [2018] EWHC 2671 (QB)
Mr Caine, the Claimant in these proceedings, was appealing to the Crown Court against his conviction by Southampton Magistrates' Court on 9 May 2016 of an offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, for which he received a 12-month conditional discharge. In the appeal, Mr Caine was representing himself, as he has done throughout these proceedings for judicial review.
Among the matters that the Judge had to consider on 18 January 2018 was an application made by Mr Caine for a witness summons requiring the attendance of a female member of the public who was sitting in the waiting room within sight and earshot of at least some of the exchanges between Mr Caine and the staff of the tyre company. This lady, whose identity was known only to the police, was apparently the only independent witness to the incident. The Judge refused that application.
The Judge was not bound to agree with Mr Caine's characterisation of this witness as pivotal or vital to his defence in the absence of any evidence indicating that she would be likely to corroborate his version of events. Such evidence as there was, suggested the opposite. The Judge correctly pointed out that it is not enough to satisfy the statutory requirements to speculate that she might do so if forced to testify under oath or affirmation.
Other
Making a Murderer Part 2
Making a Murderer is back picking up the stories of American convicts Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey.
The 10-part documentary was one of Netflix's biggest hits of 2015. It followed the case of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, both convicted of murdering Teresa Halbach in 2005. Both men claim they are innocent and a campaign to pardon them picked up hundreds of thousands of supporters.
Making A Murderer Part 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
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