Scores of violent offenders able to walk out of jail – Daily Telegraph

“Scores of Britain’s most dangerous criminals have walked out of open prisons over the past year, official statistics disclosed yesterday.”

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Daily Telegraph, 28th January 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Use of police cautions has ‘got out of hand’, magistrates warn – Daily Telegraph

“One in four violent criminals are avoiding court as magistrates warned the excessive use of cautions by police has ‘got out of hand’.”

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Daily Telegraph, 27th January 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Army accused of ‘wrongly punishing’ 1,400 soldiers – BBC News

“Some 1,400 soldiers who were cautioned by the police may have been unfairly penalised after an error by the Army led to them being wrongly disciplined.”

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BBC News, 7th January 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Serial offenders escaping tough penalties at record rate – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 7th, 2013 in cautions, news, recidivists, sentencing by sally

“The worst serial offenders are being let off with cautions at a record rate as thousands avoid tough penalties every year, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th January 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

More criminals to escape courts under new police commissioners, magistrates warn – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 19th, 2012 in budgets, cautions, courts, fines, magistrates, news, police by sally

“More offenders will be ‘let off’ with cautions and fines following the introduction of police and crime commissioners, magistrates fear.”

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Daily Telegraph, 19th November 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Retention and disclosure of police caution data infringe Article 8 – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 15th, 2012 in cautions, criminal records, human rights, news, Northern Ireland, vetting by sally

“The European Court of Human Rights yesterday handed down a Chamber judgment in declaring that the arrangements for the indefinite retention of data relating to a person’s caution in a criminal matter and for the disclosure of such data in criminal record checks infringe Article 8 of the ECHR.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th November 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Retention and disclosure of police caution data infringe Article 8 – Panopticon

“The European Court of Human Rights yesterday handed down a Chamber judgment in M.M. v United Kingdom (Application no. 24029/07) declaring that the arrangements for the indefinite retention of data relating to a person’s caution in a criminal matter and for the disclosure of such data in criminal record checks infringe Article 8 of the ECHR. Although the Court recognised that there might be a need for a comprehensive record of data relating to criminal matters, the indiscriminate and open-ended collection of criminal record data was unlikely to comply with Article 8 in the absence of clear and detailed statutory regulations clarifying the safeguards applicable and governing the use and disposal of such data, particularly bearing in mind the amount and sensitivity of the data.”

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Panopticon, 14th November 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Police play judge and jury in too many cases, say magistrates – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 7th, 2012 in cautions, courts, fines, magistrates, news, police, victims by sally

“Police have become judge and jury dispensing inappropriate summary justice on the streets, the country’s leading magistrates have warned.”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th November 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Draft Code of Practice for Adult Conditional Cautions – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 4th, 2012 in cautions, codes of practice, consultations, news by sally

“This consultation paper invites views from interested parties on the draft Code of Practice for Adult Conditional Cautions under Part 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Code of Practice makes provision for conditional cautions as a means of dealing with adult offenders in certain circumstances as an alternative to prosecution. It has been revised to reflect the changes to conditional cautions made by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. It also sets out in clearer language certain elements of the existing Code of Practice.”

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Ministry of Justice, 4th October 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Draft Code of Practice for Youth Conditional Cautions – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 4th, 2012 in cautions, codes of practice, consultations, news, pilot schemes, young offenders by sally

“This consultation paper invites views from interested parties on the draft Code of Practice for Youth Conditional Cautions under Section 48 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (that amends the Crime and Disorder Act 1998).Currently youth conditional cautions are only available for 16 and 17 year olds in five pilot areas.”

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Ministry of Justice, 4th October 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Sex offenders in Yorkshire given police cautions – BBC News

Posted May 18th, 2012 in cautions, news, police by sally

“Sex offenders, kidnappers and burglars are among criminals who have been given cautions or warnings instead of being taken to court, the BBC has found.”

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BBC News, 18th May 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Serial offenders repeatedly escape with cautions – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 16th, 2012 in cautions, news, persistent offenders by sally

“Thousands of serial offenders are being repeatedly let off with a caution, magistrates have warned.”

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Daily Telegraph, 16th April 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Two in five violent criminals handed a caution – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 2nd, 2012 in cautions, courts, news, robbery, sexual offences, violent offenders by sally

“Two in five violent criminals and sex offenders are escaping with a caution rather than being put before the courts, figures show.”

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Daily Telegraph, 2nd April 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Ambrose v Harris (Procurator Fiscal, Oban) ; HM Advocate v M; HM Advocate v G – WLR Daily

Ambrose v Harris (Procurator Fiscal, Oban); HM Advocate v M; HM Advocate v G [2011] UKSC 43; [2011] WLR (D) 288

“In principle the line as to when access to legal advice had to be provided before a person suspected of a criminal offence was questioned by police should be drawn as from the moment when he had been taken into police custody, or his freedom of action had been significantly curtailed.”

WLR Daily, 6th October 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

New vetting of solicitors procedure ‘unfair’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 6th, 2011 in cautions, news, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority, vetting by sally

“New rules take effect today that could see aspiring solicitors barred from entering the profession because of a police caution or penalty notice.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 6th October 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

More serial criminals let off with cautions – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 30th, 2011 in cautions, news, recidivists, statistics by sally

“Thousands of the worst serial criminals are being let off with cautions every year in a trend that has almost trebled in a decade.”

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Daily Telegraph, 29th August 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A new approach to tackling offending in communities needed – Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary

Posted June 9th, 2011 in cautions, penalties, reports, restorative justice by tracey

“There is a need for a new approach, with greater consistency and transparency in the use of out-of-court disposals, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate found in their report, ‘Exercising Discretion: The Gateway to Justice’ published today.”

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Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, 9th June 2011

Source: www.hmic.gov.uk

Offenders wrongly spared court – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 9th, 2011 in cautions, news, penalties, recidivists, reports, victims by tracey

“Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate found that more than 100,000 criminal offences wrongly result in an ‘out of court disposal’ every year.”

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Daily Telegraph, 9th June 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Boss forced to pay £13k to compensate stealing employee – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 15th, 2011 in cautions, compensation, false imprisonment, news, personal injuries, theft by sally

“A boss who took an employee he caught stealing to the police station with a sign saying ‘Thief’ around his neck has paid £13,000 after the criminal sued for ‘humiliation’.”

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Daily Telegraph, 15th February 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Out of court disposals warning – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 9th, 2010 in cautions, news, penalties, police by sally

“Too many cases are being dealt with by out of court disposals where the police are acting as prosecutor and judge, a Court of Appeal judge said last week.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 9th December 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk