A suspended sentence is a type of prison sentence. It is imposed when a court decides that an offence or series of offences justifies a prison sentence of less than 2 years, but that there are reasons why the sentence need not be served immediately. If...
In our crime department we have opened 25% more files for people being investigated by the police for child neglect than in 2022. These cases involve parents or guardians being accused of not having enough food in their homes and dirty and cluttered...
The government has declared nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas) is to become a controlled drug of class C from the 8th November 2023. Penalties for its possession can be up to 2 years imprisonment and supplying it can carry up to 14 years...
The King’s Speech, or the State Opening of Parliament, provides the government with an opportunity to set out its legislative agenda for the months ahead. In total, 21 bills, or pieces of legislation, were put forward this year, with criminal justice...
This article deals with Section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and provides an introduction to the law in relation to self-defence. Imagine a scenario: It’s a Friday evening and you’re relaxing at home watching TV with...
What is double jeopardy? The legal principle of double jeopardy was that a person who was found by the court to be not guilty of an offence could not be prosecuted again. This principle applied even if new evidence came to light proving that the accused...
This article deals with two new provisions which have been introduced by the government’s Domestic Abuse Act 2021 into the Serious Crime Act 2015 (section 75A and 75B). On 7 June 2022 legislation creating the specific offences of non-fatal...
It is that time of year again where people go out with their work colleagues and friends for Christmas parties and meals. Whilst most will enjoy the festivities unfortunately, we have found that Christmas parties can often lead to incidents where sexual...
The definition of theft under Section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 is the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of it. Picking up cash found on the street (which is the...
The Criminal Bar Association recently commented upon news that the number of cases waiting to be heard across the Magistrates' and Crown Courts stood at 432,899 in February 2022. This backlog was in part due to the pandemic but also down to...
On the 9 th June 2022 the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions in the case of R V Johnson 2022 EWCA 790. The appellant was represented by Miss Correna Platt of Stephensons and Mr David Emanuel QC of Garden Court Chambers. The...
The NSPCC reported last year that there had been a record high number of grooming allegations recorded by police. There is no specific offence of “grooming” as such, but the illegal activity is subject to a number of sections of the Sexual...
There appears to be no let up in efforts made by the police in tackling drug related offending, in particular county lines drug dealing. In a recent police push, between 11 October and 17 October: 1,468 people were arrested 2,664 vulnerable people,...
A recent episode of Channel 4’s 24 Hours in Police Custody dealt with a gradual, worsening feud between a father and a boyfriend which led to a fatal stabbing. Robert Parkins was convicted of Alex Fitzpatrick’s murder and received a life...
DNA evidence has developed over the years in the field of criminal law. The first case in which it was used by the police was back in 1986 whereby two teenagers had been raped and murdered. The initial suspect in relation to the crimes was proven to...
The first sentencing guidelines for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, were published on the 12 th August by the Sentencing Council following consultation. The offences covered include slavery, forced labour, human trafficking or an offence...
In September 2020, Extinction Rebellion protested in central London with the aim of highlighting the issue of climate change. It was reported that they blocked roads, glued themselves to the floor and staged sit-ins. In total the police arrested more than...
During the past 18 months everyone has faced challenges and significant changes to their life due to the covid-19 pandemic. Many new ways of working and doing routine tasks had to be implemented. Face to face meetings were avoided where...
Allegations of assault (often in a domestic context) are one of the most common types of offences that we in the general crime department are asked to defend. New sentencing guidelines came into force on 1st July 2021. These bring about many changes,...
County lines is a drugs distribution model using mobile phones and sometimes young and vulnerable individuals where drugs are exported from major cities to various locations across the United Kingdom. The National Crime Agency have recently...
Due to advances in technology and the increased use of social media by nearly everyone in the country most people have the means to share images widely. It is very easy for a person, in haste, to post something online which they later regret. ...
There have been calls for urgent action to be taken in order to tackle abuse in education. These follow an influx of over 11,000 anonymous testimonials were submitted to the ‘Everyone’s Invited’ website, sharing instances of all types of...
Between 2000 and 2014, the Post Office prosecuted 736 sub-postmasters (an average of one a week) based on information from a recently installed computer system called Horizon. After 20 years, campaigners have now won a legal battle to have their cases...
Since 1st April 2021, updated sentencing guidelines have come into effect for offences falling under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. These guidelines will apply to all cases sentenced on or after this date. Over...
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) launched Operation Green Jacket in May 2019 in attempt to investigate child sexual abuse in Greater Manchester. The operation was initially aimed to reinvestigate alleged sexual exploitation that...
In 2002, our client was convicted of S.18 GBH. It is alleged he shook his baby which resulted in brain damage and life-long disabilities for his child. The client received a 4 year sentence of imprisonment for this offence. In 2016 the child died...
In order to secure a criminal conviction it is for the prosecution to prove their case. To do so they rely on evidence gathered by the police. This evidence can come in various forms. It can include, for example, eye witness testimony, the confession of an...
We recently represented a client who was charged with the murder of his son. This related to an incident which had occurred in 2001 and which had been prosecuted in 2002 as an allegation of causing grievous bodily harm with intent (S.18 GBH). The...
Organised crime groups (commonly based in large cities but not exclusively so) are known to exploit vulnerable individuals to transport and sell drugs across the country on their behalf. The individuals exploited are often in their teenage years but...
An Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) is an order which an enforcement authority can request which in essence recovers property that cannot be accounted for legitimately. It is also known as the mafia order as it takes away unexplained wealth that you can...
On the 2nd July 2020 the BBC reported that the top secret communication system used by criminals has been successfully penetrated and this has led to the arrests of hundreds of criminals and sent shockwaves throughout organised crime groups in Europe. ...
Due to the coronavirus/COVID-19 every part of daily life has been impacted one way or another. Considerable coverage in the media regarding the NHS has been given and everyone appreciates the efforts and dedication of the doctors, nurses and support staff...
Many prosecutions take place when alleged victims do not want to support them. The police and the Crown Prosecution Service are aware of the many reasons for such lack of support and particularly in cases where the allegations relate to domestic...
Recently there have been a number of cases in the press of male defendants going to trial charged with a serious sexual assault which they claim that they have committed whilst they were asleep. This condition is known as sexsomnia. Sleep related sexual...
If you have been arrested by the police on suspicion of an offence, then the police can detain you in their custody for the purpose of questioning you. The actual questioning itself can take a relatively short time. The shortest interview I have ever...
Criminal acts either witnessed by, or reported to, the police will lead to an investigation by them. The investigation stage may range from the simple to the very complex. For example, a police officer on duty witnessing disorderly behaviour...
It is with great delight that we are able to announce that our criminal defence department has again been awarded a tier one ranking in the latest Legal 500 rankings published for 2020. This is the fifth consecutive year that the department has been...
The Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report on 9 September 2019 considering the right to family life pertaining to children whose mothers are in prison. Human Rights Act 1998 Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 protects your right to...
The Home Office has today released data obtained following the 2018 Commercial Victimisation Survey which records the nature and extent of crimes committed against businesses in England and Wales. The 2018 survey focusses primarily on the following...
The answer is yes. Even if you are convicted as a juvenile, the impact of any conviction can have a detrimental effect on your choice of career, whether in education or paid/voluntary employment. Some types of employment demand a higher disclosure...
When the police investigate the complaint of a crime they will usually want to interview their suspect. This can be when that person has been placed under arrest or can be a more informal arrangement made by the police, referred to as a voluntary...
This week retired, Welsh, international rugby player, Gareth Thomas, went public with his decision to agree that the police should use restorative justice to deal with teenagers who were responsible for what has been described as a homophobic attack...
For an individual in full time employment or an individual training towards their chosen career, any criminal conviction or caution could have serious implications on their ability to work or study. It will always be a daunting experience for someone...
We are delighted to announce that our general crime and fraud department have been awarded tier one ranking in the Legal 500. This is the fourth consecutive year this department have been placed into this category . The Legal 500 analyses the...
Over recent months there has been much in the national press about things getting out of control in prisons. This has included, in one instance, the running of a prison having to be taken out of private hands and given back to the government. There has...
It is important that if you do receive notification that you are to be investigated or charged with an offence of benefit fraud that you do contact our office for advice as soon as possible. Negotiations with the DWP may lead to an alternative...
We receive a number of calls from clients who ask if they can be charged with an offence when the alleged victim has not provided a statement or where there isn’t any CCTV/forensic evidence. The first point to remember is that we are all subject...
On 13 September 2018, the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 received Royal Assent, increasing the maximum sentence for low level assaults committed against an emergency worker from six months to 12 months custody in the...
Often partners or relatives find themselves in a situation where an asset which they have an interest in are being sought to be recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act. When an asset is owned within a relationship or a marriage then the asset will be...
Since 2014 the police and courts have been given powers to fill what is described as a “gap” in providing protection to victims of domestic violence. Following an incident of domestic violence where there may be insufficient evidence to...
Over the last decade there have been increasing concerns about the withdrawal of funding from more and more areas of law. In these areas of law it had previously been understood that people would need assistance in order to secure access to justice. One...
There are many situations when an individual will be interviewed under caution. The most common example of this will be at the police station when a suspect will be questioned over a criminal offence. It is vitally important that legal...
Since 2013 there has been a legal battle in the USA between a Texas man Cody Wilson and the US government. In 2015 Wilson was forced to remove the blue prints he had put on the web for a 3D printed gun he called the Liberator. The Trump administration...
In the last six months the press have reported on a number of cases that have collapsed due to the failure of the police to provide full disclosure to the defence. These cases have highlighted the failings in the disclosure process and resulted in a...