Criminal

Half of members of the public polled by YouGov are in favour of replacing short prison sentences with electronic tagging and community sentences, but don’t support curbs on jury trials.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has published its December 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) review findings, which set out completed prosecutions under the Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020) and Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/129

Jon Robins questions the government’s decision to rule out a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Pat Finucane

The Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG) has published updated anti-money laundering (AML) guidance for the legal sector

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), HM Inspectorate of Probation, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Prisons have published a review on the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the criminal justice system (CJS) and the respective bodies’ responses

In its January 2021 budget recommendations to the Treasury this week, the Bar Council has called for an extra £55m to improve the ‘dirty and unsafe’ conditions in courts, an extra 42 Nightingale Courts on top of the 18 currently operating, non-means-tested legal aid for domestic abuse victims and early access to legal advice for welfare and benefits issues, both of which have increased during the pandemic

The chief inspectors for prisons, police, probation and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have expressed ‘grave concerns’ about the long-term impact of court backlogs

The Law Society has responded to the Law Commission’s September 2020 consultation on proposals to reform hate crime laws

The Law Society has responded to the Home Office’s response to a consultation on pre–charge bail—which allows the police to 'discharge a suspect from custody subject to conditions, while they gather evidence or await charging decision’

The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has questioned why the courts are to spend time piloting COVID-19 testing at selected sites when such a scheme has already ‘been administered in car parks up and down the land for many months’