Increased support for the victims of crime and specialist Rape and Serious Sexual Offence units has been promised in the Autumn budget as part of the increased funding awarded to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS has been given £49 million in additional funding to help them address the enormous pressure the criminal justice […]
The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University have co-published a report suggesting the special measures can be improved upon in terms of the support for vulnerable witnesses they provide in the family and criminal courts. The report examines the impact of the ‘special measures’ introduced following the introduction of a Bill proposed by the […]
In recent years the use of remote hearings has been crucial to the efficient and expeditious service of justice in the courts and tribunals of England and Wales but what is the future for remote hearings? When used effectively remote hearings save time and money for all involved whilst ensuring accessibility for court users for […]
When it comes to how indecent images should be used in family law proceedings, the law states the following should be taken into consideration: 1. FPR Rule 1.1(2) states: “Dealing with a case justly includes, so far as practicable – a) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously and fairly; b) dealing with the case […]
2023 was a busy year for criminal law. Major legislative changes made during the year will have a major and long-lasting impact on the way the police and government deals with certain crimes and the way offenders are treated but what were the major changes in UK criminal law in 2023? In this blog we […]
A change to the law will give children more protection from sexual abuse by making it easier to prosecute criminals who have had sex in front of children for gratification. The tabled amendment will adjust offences at sections 11, 18, 32, 36 and 40 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. According to the UK Government’s […]
When Ian Price from Stonnall, Staffordshire was attacked and killed by two XL bully dogs while he tried to defend his mother from the animals, the call to ban XL bullies understandably intensified. However, if you are a dog owner, do you know which criminal charges you would face if your dog attacks someone? What are XL […]
Business crime continues to have an enormous impact on UK businesses. In their 2022 Crime Survey for England and Wales, the government recorded an estimated 3.5 million incidents of fraud and 2.2 million incidents of theft against businesses in the UK in 2020 alone so how can businesses protect themselves against business crime? It’s also […]
The criminal offences that can be included under the umbrella term ‘domestic abuse’ have been in the news recently, not least because of the proposals to add those convicted of them to the offenders who must sign on to the violent and sexual offences register. The passing of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 will undoubtedly […]
The topic of the offence of controlling and coercive behaviour has been discussed widely in the Press recently. Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 created this relatively new offence. It has an obvious overlap with domestic abuse, sex, honour-based violence and stalking/harassment offences. This can at times lead to some confusion about how […]