The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation aiming to strengthen the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code). The consultation, which will close on 11:59 September 11th 2019, comes after victims and groups representing them argued that the code’s complexity, and inconsistencies in the manner in which it was applied, caused some victims to miss out on the support they were entitled to. The MoJ is now seeking views from victims, charities and criminal justice agencies on how to make the code clearer and more accessible.
Month: July 2019
HMICFRS Report: The Police and CPS response to crimes against older people
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) have published a report on the police and CPS response to crimes against older people.
The main findings of the report were:
- There is no national police focus on older victims, many of whom are vulnerable.
Police forces don’t generally treat crimes against older people as a specific category of offending. Older people are not one of the groups of vulnerable people considered by the cross-policing vulnerability and public protection board, and instead are treated as vulnerable only if certain conditions apply or are deemed to be at risk. - The police and the CPS can work better together.
There is little evidence that the CPS’s policy on crimes against older people was being considered and applied by prosecutors. The different national arrangements of the police and the CPS prevent them working together effectively. A good start would be to agree a joint and simple definition of what constitutes a crime against an older person. Police should develop a strategy that accounts for some of the specific problems faced by older people, and should consider whether, nationally, the response to crimes against older people can be organised differently. - It is critical that the police have consistent and effective arrangements to make sure people are kept safe.
HMICFRS found no common approach to how the police work with other organisations that have responsibility for keeping older people safe. Police don’t always identify older people who need safeguarding, and don’t always share information in an effective way. However, they also found some reluctance from partners to become as fully involved with the police in adult safeguarding arrangements as they are in those for children. - The police are usually good in their initial dealings with older victims.
When victims or their representatives called the police, there was mostly an appropriate response. Initial decisions about whether a victim was vulnerable were mainly accurate, and HMICFRS commends this as the result of forces’ investment in training to help officers recognise vulnerability. - Investigations are often not good enough.
Victims’ experiences of the investigation process were frequently characterised by low levels of communication from the police, and police response was inconsistent. - There is little evidence that the police are routinely assessing victims’ needs.
The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime makes it clear that the police should conduct assessments of victims’ needs and whether they need any support. HMICFRS found that vulnerable victims weren’t being treated according to their needs because of omissions and errors within their assessments. They also raise concerns that the referral system does not work as well as it should. - The police and the CPS are often poor at dealing with the complex needs of vulnerable older victims.
Police and the CPS often didn’t consider: different ways for victims to give their best evidence; special measure assessments and meetings; requesting registered intermediaries; and what reasonable adjustments to help victims in court. - Crime allocation policies are often not sophisticated enough.
These allocation policies can make decisions based primarily on crime types, meaning they were not sophisticated enough to produce the right decisions for the particular circumstances of the case. - Systems to refer victims to support services remain patchy.
Echoing the findings of last year’s hate crime review, HMICFRS again found that some victims weren’t being appropriately referred to support services.
Recent publications on Counter-Extremism
The independent Commission for Countering Extremism has published several reports on the subject of countering extremism:
Modernising and Mainstreaming: The contemporary British far-right.
Research by HOPE not Hate. By analysing the rhetoric espoused at a series of major far-right events across 2018 and comparing it to societal polling it becomes evident that large parts of the contemporary far-right’s platform – namely anti-Muslim politics, co-option of the free speech debate and an anti-elite populism – have widespread public support.
National Action: links between the far right, extremism and terrorism.
Research bu the Centre for Hate Studies, University of Leicester. In 2016, National Action made history for being the first far-right group to be proscribed in the UK. Investigating the group’s history, ideology and activities, this article considers how its commitment to a ‘pure’ form of nationalism helped it to transition from non-violent to violent extremism.
Overview of the far-right.
Research by the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats, Lancaster University. The paper provides an overview of the far-right in the UK by covering the various ideological strains that inhabit the far-right space as well as some of their different aims and objectives. The paper also sets out some of the available indicators of the scale of far-right support in the UK.
Talking our way out of conflict: critical reflections on ‘mediated dialogue’ as a tool for secondary level Countering Violent Extremism (CVE).
Research by University of Manchester and Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Peace Foundation. The paper reflects on a researcher-practitioner collaboration in conducting a mediated dialogue between young people from an ‘Islamist’ milieu and from an ‘extreme right’ milieu. It situates the intervention in the literature on the effectiveness of intergroup contact in reducing prejudice and on social cohesion and suggests how it might be developed for use in community led counter extremism practice.
Violent extremism tactics and the ideology of the secretarian far left.
Research by King’s College London, the University of Bristol and Goldsmiths University of London into British far-left secretarian groups. These groups were defined as small, ideologically homogeneous groups which reject parliamentary politics as a route to socialism and instead aspire to become ‘vanguard parties’. There was a strong correlation between the belief system disseminated by the secretarian far left – termed as ‘revolutionary workerism’ – and sympathy with violent extremism tactics. There was also a positive relationship between ‘anti-imperialist’ geopolitical ideology and sympathy for violent extremism, in that those that saw the US and the UK as a greater threat to world peace than NATO strategic adversaries such as North Korea.
Extremism in England and Wales: Statistical summary of responses.
The Commission for Countering Extremism carried out a consultation between November 2018 and January 2019 that aimed to improve understanding of extremism and its impact on individuals, communities and wider society. The Commission was interested in two cross-cutting issues, the interaction between online and offline spaces, as well as the drivers of extremism. The call for evidence asked for information on 5 themes:
- Public understanding of extremism.
- The scale of extremism.
- Extremists’ objectives and tactics.
- Harms caused by extremism.
- The current response to extremism.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2019
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2019 have come into force by way of a statutory instrument. The instrument brings into force sections 24 and 132 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017.
Section 24 allows for the transfer of staff to local policing bodies if a force wished to discharge a function and move the function to the local policing body. Section 132 amends the Firearms Act 1968 and the Firearms Amendment Act 1988, but it only applies to Scotland.
Source: legislation.gov.uk
Serious violence: new legal duty to support multi-agency action
The Home Office had published the outcome of the consultation exploring a new legal duty to support multi-agency action when tackling serious violence. The publication includes the background to the consultation, the government response including the next steps, and a summary of the consultation responses.
The three options included in the consultation were:
- Option one: a new duty on specific organisations to have due regard to the prevention and tackling of serious violence
- Option two: a new duty through legislation to revise Community Safety Partnerships
- Option three: a voluntary non-legislative approach
The Government’s preferred option was option one. 37% of responses supported option one and was the preferred option for the criminal justice sector, police and crime commissioners and the research sector. The police sector and members of the public equally supported options one and two. 40% of online respondents favoured option two. Option two was favoured by fire and rescue services, health and social care, local government, housing and construction sectors, and multi agency boards. 23% of online respondents supported option three. Option three was favoured by the voluntary and community sector, and the education and childcare sector.
The next steps for the Government include considering what enforcement action for non-compliance may be required and publishing guidance supporting any new legislation.
Source: Gov.uk
National Audit Office report: tackling serious and organised crime.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report called Tackling serious and organised crime. The report details research undertaken by the NAO examining whether the Home Office and the National Crime Agency (NCA) tackle serious and organised crime in an effective and efficient manner.
Key statistics in the report include:
- Over 4,500 identified organised crime groups are currently operating in the UK.
- The government estimated a total expenditure of £2.9bn for tackling serious and organised crime in 2015-16 including front-line spending (£2.2bn) and spending on back-office functions (£0.7bn).
- The government estimated the social and economic cost (£37bn) of serious and organised crime in 2015-16.
As well as including key statistics, the report reviewed the 2018 strategy. The NAO concluded that the strategy tried to address shortcomings. However, it has not been wholly successful due to costs not being fully estimated and enablers for successful implementation not being in place. The report noted delays in the distribution of funding caused difficulties for law enforcement agencies because they were unable to plan and spend effectively. Moreover, the report highlighted the lack of a strong governmental accountability framework to drive the implementation of the strategy.
Source: National Audit Office
Information Commissioner’s Office seeks views on updated data sharing code of practice
As required by the Data Protect Act 2018, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has opened consultation on the updated data sharing code of practice. The updated draft code of practice will explain and advise on changes to data protection legislation where these changes are relevant to data sharing. It will address many aspects of the new legislation including transparency, lawful bases for processing, the new accountability principle and the requirement to record processing activities. The updated draft code is now out for public consultation and will remain open until Monday 9 September 2019.
Police use of child spies in criminal gangs is lawful, high court rules
The High Court has ruled that the use of child spies to infiltrate criminal gangs is lawful. The case was brought about by the charity Just For Kids Law who argued that there were not adequate safeguards in place to protect children recruited by police to spy on gangs.
The judge concluded that enough safeguards were in place to adequately protect children. As such, the human rights of the children involved were not being breached. The judge also stated that this was reinforced by confidential material provided during the case.
Source: The Guardian
Justice Secretary confirms plans for ‘Helen’s Law’
The Justice Secretary David Gauke has announced plans for a new law, commonly referred to as ‘Helen’s Law’, which would enable the denial of parole for murderers who refuse to disclose the location of a victim’s body.
The announcement comes after years of campaigning by Marie McCourt, the mother of Helen McCourt who has never been found since her murder in 1988. The proposed law would require the Parole Board to consider if the offender has revealed the location of the victim’s body when reviewing their suitability for release.
Source: Gov.uk
Economic crime plan 2019 to 2022
The Government has published the Economic Crime Plan 2019-2022 which sets out the 7 priority areas agreed by the Economic Crime Strategic Board in January 2019. The priority areas are intended to reduce economic crime through the enhancement of data sharing, law enforcement and better understanding of the threat in both the private and public sectors.
Despite being recognised as a world leader in combating economic crime, the UK is still though to lose around £37 million a year to serious and organised crime. Much of this money is used to fund drug trafficking and gang violence.
The Economic Crime Plan 2019-2022 can be read here.
Source: Gov.uk
Police Horizon Scanning 