Category: drug offences

Court of Appeal refuses anonymity for offender – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 28th, 2013 in anonymity, appeals, drug offences, families, harassment, human rights, judicial review, media, news, rape, reporting restrictions by sally

“Only ‘clear and cogent evidence’ that it was strictly necessary to keep an offender’s identity confidential would lead a court to derogate from the principle of open justice. The possibility of a media campaign that might affect the offender’s resettlement could not work as a justification for banning reporting about that offender, even though a prominent and inaccurate report about him had already led to harassment of his family.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 25th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Drug baron told to pay £185m – or face a further 10 years in jail – The Guardian

Posted October 21st, 2013 in assets recovery, drug offences, drug trafficking, homicide, news, sentencing by sally

“One of Britain’s most notorious drug smugglers has been told to pay £185m – or face another 10 years in jail. Curtis Warren, the only drug dealer to make it on to the Sunday Times Rich List, faces trial this week in Jersey where he was jailed in 2007 over a £1m cannabis-smuggling plot.”

Full story

The Guardian, 20th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Pensioner handed jail sentence for selling crack cocaine – The Independent

Posted October 16th, 2013 in ASBOs, drug offences, elderly, news, sentencing by sally

“A ‘flamboyantly’ dressed pensioner who would leave his sheltered housing to sell crack cocaine in Soho, London has been jailed.”

Full story

The Independent, 15th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Analysis: HMP Oakwood report – BBC News

Posted October 9th, 2013 in budgets, drug offences, health & safety, news, prisons, rehabilitation, reports, standards by sally

“The official website for HMP Oakwood says that it wants to ‘inspire, motivate and guide prisoners to become the best they can be.'”

Full story

BBC News, 8th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

A cautionary tale – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted October 7th, 2013 in assault, cautions, child abuse, Crown Court, drug offences, indecent photographs of children, news, weapons by sally

“Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has announced a ‘radical’ overhaul of simple cautions whereby their use will be banned in dealing with all indictable-only offences – ie serious offences such as robbery and serious assault that can only be tried in a Crown Court before a jury –and possession of any offensive weapon (including a knife), supplying Class A drugs and a range of sexual offences against children, including child prostitution and pornography.”

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 4th October 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Chris Grayling: Simple cautions for serious offences to be scrapped – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 2nd, 2013 in cautions, child abuse, drug offences, indecent photographs of children, press releases, sexual offences, violent disorder, weapons by tracey

“Criminals who commit serious offences will no longer receive just a ‘slap on the wrist’ Secretary of State for Justice Chris Grayling announced today in a radical overhaul of ‘simple’ cautions.”

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 30th September 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Home Office: Drugs must remain illegal to ‘protect society’ – The Independent

Posted September 30th, 2013 in drug offences, government departments, news, police, public interest by sally

“Government clashes with one of England’s leading police officers who says Class A drugs should be decriminalised.”

Full story

The Independent, 29th September 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cautions to be scrapped for serious offenders, says Chris Grayling – The Guardian

Posted September 30th, 2013 in cautions, child abuse, criminal justice, drug offences, homicide, news, robbery, sexual offences, weapons by sally

“Serious offenders will no longer receive a mere ‘slap on the wrist’, the justice secretary has said, as he announced an overhaul of the cautions system.”

Full story

The Guardian, 29th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Halton crime gang jailed for guns and drugs offences – BBC News

Posted September 23rd, 2013 in drug offences, firearms, gangs, news, sentencing, violent offenders by sally

“A Merseyside gang which ‘controlled illegal drug distribution’ across a Cheshire borough has been jailed.”

Full story

BBC News, 19th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Stop and search: it does matter if you’re black or white – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted September 20th, 2013 in drug abuse, drug offences, news, race discrimination, reports, stop and search by sally

“A troubling report co-authored by the London School of Economics and Release was published this week and shows that drug policing is the predominant purpose in the use of stop and search with black people stopped and searched for drugs at 6.3 times the rate of white people. In addition, black people are more likely to receive a harsher police response for possession of drugs.”

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 19th September 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

EU could be given powers to ban ‘legal highs’ within weeks of them hitting the market – The Independent

Posted September 18th, 2013 in drug offences, EC law, health & safety, news by sally

“The European Union could be given powers to ban dangerous psychoactive substances known as ‘legal highs’ within weeks of them hitting the market, under new proposals unveiled by the bloc’s legislative branch today.”

Full story

The Independent, 17th September 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Legalising cannabis: £1.25bn tax benefit – without necessarily damaging public health – The Independent

Posted September 17th, 2013 in crime, drug offences, licensing, news, reports by sally

“Research says decriminalising cannabis could cut the cost of policing, prosecuting and treating drug users, while regulation could help control potency and chemical composition.”

Full story

The Independent, 16th September 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Businessman jailed after drugging woman and assaulting her for nine hours – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 9th, 2013 in drug offences, news, rape, sentencing, sexual offences by tracey

“A businessman told a woman he was taking her to a pop concert but then drugged her, put her unconscious body into a wheelchair and took her to a hotel where he raped her for nine hours, a court has heard.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 6th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Why not… legalise drugs? – BBC News

Posted September 5th, 2013 in drug abuse, drug offences, news by sally

“Drug prohibition began in the UK during World War I, when the possession, distribution and sale of cocaine and opium was outlawed. Cannabis was added to the list in 1920, in line with international treaties.”

Full story

BBC News, 5th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Black people twice as likely to be charged with drugs possession – report – The Guardian

Posted August 22nd, 2013 in drug offences, news, racism, reports, stop and search by sally

“Black people are not just significantly more likely to be searched by police for drugs than their white peers, but face almost double the chance of being charged if any are found, according to a study of racial disparities in the way drug laws are enforced.”

Full story

The Guardian, 21st August 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Poppy Rodgers death: York man jailed for supplying drugs – BBC News

Posted August 8th, 2013 in drug offences, guilty pleas, news, sentencing by sally

“A man has been jailed for more than six years for supplying a class A drug to a teenage girl who died after taking the substance.”

Full story

BBC News, 7th August 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Somerset firearms and drugs gang jailed – BBC News

Posted July 22nd, 2013 in conspiracy, drug offences, firearms, news, sentencing by sally

“Eleven men have been jailed for their roles in a conspiracy to supply cocaine and firearms from a bunker hidden under garden decking in a Somerset village.”

Full story

BBC News, 19th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Is complicity with the death penalty illegal? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 17th, 2013 in appeals, death penalty, drug offences, drug trafficking, international law, jurisdiction, legal aid, news by sally

“In a previous blog post on these pages, the case of Lindsay Sandiford was examined. Sandiford – a British citizen facing the death penalty in Indonesia – had asked the UK Government for funding to help her appeal, but was refused financial help. The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Government, stating that the decision to provide legal aid to a British citizen abroad is a discretionary matter for the executive.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 17th July 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Drug-driving proposals unveiled by government – BBC News

Posted July 10th, 2013 in dangerous driving, drug offences, news, road traffic by sally

“Plans to make it easier to prosecute people who drive under the influence of illegal drugs in England and Wales have been unveiled by the government.”

Full story

BBC News, 9th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina v Sadique (Omar) – WLR Daily

Posted July 9th, 2013 in appeals, assisting offenders, crime, drug offences, law reports by sally

Regina v Sadique (Omar) [2013] EWCA Crim 1150 ; [2013] WLR (D) 269

“Section 46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 created the offence of encouraging or assisting the commission of one or more offences. Its specific ingredients and the subsequent legislative provisions underlined that an indictment charging a section 46 offence of encouraging one or more offences was permissible.”

WLR Daily, 5th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk