Issue 96  29th June 2019

2607 voted
1583 (60.72%) voted to suspend action
1024 (39.28%) voted against suspending action

We are grateful to everyone who has voted and who has been engaged in this process. We have decided to suspend action for now. But we know that you are still angry. This offer is not a solution - but provides an interim position. We have made it clear that unless the CPS offer is implemented and meaningful solutions for AGFS are proposed in November, then all bets will be off. The mandate stands and your anger will not be contained indefinitely.

Laws around the making and sharing of non-consensual intimate images are to be reviewed under plans to ensure protections keep pace with emerging technology.

The review, which will be launched shortly, will consider a range of disturbing digital trends such as ‘cyber-flashing’ – when people receive unsolicited sexual images of someone over the phone – and ‘deepfake’ pornography – the degrading practice of superimposing an individual’s face onto pornographic photos or videos without consent.

The review will also consider the case for granting automatic anonymity to revenge porn victims, so they cannot be named publicly, as is the case for victims of sexual offences.

The recent conviction of Bob Higgins on charges relating to sexual abuse of teenage boys when he was a football coach has raised the issue of double jeopardy.

I am therefore writing to request the Government take this opportunity to commit to undertaking a review of the retrial provisions in the 2003 Act, specifically to consider whether it would be appropriate to extend the list of 'serious offences' to include, amongst others, certain sexual offences committed against children.

People have an increasing chance of getting away with murder as figures show the number of detectives investigating the most serious offences in England and Wales has fallen by more than a quarter since austerity began.

Data obtained under freedom of information requests showed the number of detectives serving in major crime and murder squads had fallen by at least 610, or 28%, between 2010-11 and 2017-18. During the same period the detection rates for homicide, which includes the suspected offences of murder and manslaughter, fell by more than 10%. The detection rate relates to the number of cases in which police believe they have identified the offenders.

Cressida Dick, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said detection rates for some offences were “woefully low” and despite the fact crime was going up the courts were emptying rather than filling.

Ms Dick said when the police investigated the most serious crimes they were very good at making use of technology and data, but it was important the same skills and resources were put to use effectively in other areas of their work.

A "fit and well" man died after he was held for hours in a court cell on one of the hottest days of the year, an inquest jury has heard. Rafal Sochacki, 43, was held for almost five hours at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where the air conditioning was "faulty", in June 2017. He had just spent two-and-a-half hours in a custody van.

The jury was told Mr Sochacki was "sweating" when he was transferred from the van to the court. He was later seen behaving "oddly" before collapsing. The inquest at Westminster Coroners Court heard the Polish-born cleaner had been arrested by police on 19 June.