8 May 2019
Coming soon: the Domestic Abuse Bill
On 21 January 2019, the draft Domestic Abuse Bill (“the Bill”) was published by the Government. The stated aim of the Bill is to protect and support victims and their families, pursue and deter offenders and improve the performance of local agencies and services in instances of domestic abuse. It is of relevance to both criminal and family law practitioners.
28 February 2019
New powers to gather electronic evidence from overseas agreed
The Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019 marks a major departure in the current mutual legal assistance regime in relation to gathering electronic evidence from overseas. Receiving Royal Assent on the 12 February 2019, the act gives powers to law enforcement to apply for an Overseas Production Order (OPO) to obtain electronic data directly from service providers based outside the UK for the purposes of criminal investigations and prosecutions for serious crime.
16 January 2019
Sex for rent / rent for sex - revised CPS guidance
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has recently published revised guidance on “Prostitution and Exploitation of Prostitution Offences.” This guidance follows a series of reports in late-2018 of landlords offering rooms for no financial cost, so long as the tenant agreed to engage in sexual activity.
23 November 2018
Changes to the Code for Crown Prosecutors
David Sleight discusses the revised ‘Code for Crown Prosecutors’ and suggests that a shift in policy to encourage prosecutors to carefully review cases and exculpatory evidence at an early stage is a good idea in principle. Sleight argues the revised code is, however, ‘yet another example of a well-intentioned policy change that has little or no consideration as to what is happening on the ground’.
1 November 2018
New guidance for prosecutors will make the slow grind of our legal system worse
Alison Saunders handed over the keys to the office of the director of public prosecutions to Max Hill, QC, yesterday, her parting gift was to unveil an updated code for crown prosecutors. The code, which came into force last week, sets out the general principles that prosecutors must consider when deciding to charge a suspect. David Sleight blogs about how changes in the way charging decisions are made risk leaving victims and suspects in limbo for longer.