Lexis®Library update: In December 2020, 62 cases were brought under SI 2020/129 and 14 cases were brought under CA 2020. In regard to SI 2020/129, ten cases were withdrawn and one returned to court.
In regards to CA 2020, 12 cases were withdrawn and two returned to court. Of the cases reviewed, two were charged by the police and almost half were charged alongside a substantive offence. In addition, the CPS statistics revealed that 6,500 offences related to coronavirus were prosecuted in the six months following last spring’s national lockdown.
CPS also confirmed that it has introduced a ‘coronavirus flag’ on its case management system to highlight criminality in relation to the coronavirus pandemic as an aggravating feature at sentencing. This may include coughing and spitting while threatening to ‘infect another person with the virus, thefts of essential items or fraudsters' taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis.
This content was first published by LNB News / Lexis®Library, a LexisNexis® company, on 21 January 2021 and is published with permission. Further information can be found at: www.lexisnexis.com
Source: https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/6500-coronavirus-related-prosecutions-first-six-months-pandemic
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