Criminal

Could law enforcement agencies tasked with recovering stolen cryptoassets have a silver bullet in their arsenal? In this week’s NLJ, Ashley Fairbrother, partner, and Joe Nahal-Macdonald, senior associate, at Edmonds Marshall McMahon, and Sarah Wood, barrister at 5 St Andrews Hill, examine the new powers provided by Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, courtesy of legislation implemented in 2024.

Could a bold interpretation of the new powers contained in Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 provide a silver bullet for law enforcement? Ashley Fairbrother, Joe Nahal-Macdonald & Sarah Wood set out the case

Solicitors are to receive a criminal legal aid rates rise while Crown Court sitting days will increase in number to tackle the still-rising cases backlog

Judges and magistrates sentencing strangulation and suffocation offences have been issued with a guideline for the first time

Strangulation and homicide connected with the end of a relationship will be made statutory aggravating factors for murder, the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood has confirmed.

Former solicitor Phil Shiner, previously principal of Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment suspended for two years, by Judge Christopher Hehir at Southwark Crown Court. 

How exactly are the police using their stop and search powers? In this week’s NLJ, Neil Parpworth of Leicester de Montfort University crunches the numbers and drills into the detail to uncover a less-than-rosy picture.

Neil Parpworth delves deep into the latest data to determine how the police are using stop & search powers

Dr Ping-fat Sze examines the reviewability of prosecutorial decisions, & the effect on access to justice

Prisons are in crisis, so what’s the plan to fix them? In this week’s NLJ, Helen Scambler, associate at Mishcon de Reya, comments on the government’s actions to date to repair the issue, and makes some suggestions on what they could do next.