Law and the Justice System

Digital devices like smart doorbells, dashcam footage, car GPS systems and even Amazon Alexas are providing increasingly more evidence in criminal trials, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said in a speech today.

It is now three years since the enactment of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and the “failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion” offence (the FTP Offence).

A senior judge has criticised the police for an unwillingness to co-operate over the malicious prosecution of the former administrators of Rangers in connection with the collapsed club fraud case.

Nicola Sharp of Rahman Ravelli outlines the offences created by Part 3 of the Criminal Finances Act, their relevance in this COVID-19 era and the appropriate corporate response.

A reformed confiscation regime will aim to improve the process by which confiscation orders are made; ensure fairness of the confiscation regime; and optimise the enforcement of confiscation orders so they are more effective at depriving a defendant of their benefit from criminal conduct.

The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confiscated watches and jewellery worth £500,000 from a safe deposit box owned by the brother of a convicted fraudster in Birmingham.

In an essay to accompany an event with the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, Max Hill QC outlines what independence means for the Crown Prosecution Service in an extraordinary 2020 and beyond, and how it intersects with the Service’s other values and responsibilities.

More flexible working hours and a review of the eligibility criteria are part of the latest plan to improve diversity in the judiciary, especially in the senior ranks.

Proposals to reform the confiscation regime could help recover an extra £8 million per year from convicted criminals, by more accurately and efficiently determining a defendant’s criminal proceeds and more effectively enforcing confiscation orders.

The amount of criminal cash and assets seized by police rose sharply in West Mercia last year.