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August 2023
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The Sentencing Council is consulting on revised sentencing guidelines for several terrorism offences. This is on the face of it a surprising move given that a definitive guideline was only recently implemented.
The main legislative changes impacting the guidelines include increases to the statutory maximum sentences for some offences, and an expansion of some offences. As a result of the increases to statutory maximum sentences, the Council is proposing consequential increases for the most serious examples of offending. Criminal defence Solicitors The main changes include: • Amendment to the culpability factors in the Proscribed Organisations – Support (section 12 Terrorism Act 2000) guideline to provide for offenders convicted of the new section 12(1A) offence of expressing supportive views for a proscribed organisation, reckless as to whether others will be encouraged to support it; • Amendment to the culpability factors in the Collection of Terrorist Information (section 58 Terrorism Act 2000) guideline to provide for offenders convicted of the new offence of viewing/streaming terrorist information over the internet; • Changes to the sentencing tables in the Encouragement of Terrorism (ss1 and 2 Terrorism Act 2006); Failure to Disclose Information About Acts of Terrorism (s38B Terrorism Act 2000), and Collection of Terrorist Information (s58 Terrorism Act 2000) guidelines to reflect the changes to the statutory maximum sentences; • Additional guidance added to the Encouragement of Terrorism (sections 1 and 2 Terrorism Act 2006); Proscribed Organisations – Membership (section 11 Terrorism Act 2000); Proscribed Organisations – Support (section 12 Terrorism Act 2000); and Collection of Terrorist Information (section 58 Terrorism Act 2000) guidelines as Terrorism offences guideline, consultation 2 these offences now fall within scope for sentences for offenders of particular concern; • Additional guidance added to the Preparation of Terrorist Act (s5 Terrorism Act 2006); Encouragement of Terrorism (sections 1 and 2 Terrorism Act 2006); Proscribed Organisations – Support (section 12 Terrorism Act 2000); and Collection of Terrorist Information (section 58 Terrorism Act 2000) guidelines as the new legislation made these ‘specified terrorism offences’ for which extended determinate sentences would apply. In addition, the Council has chosen to make some minor changes to the Funding guideline to assist Judges to sentence cases where either the offender had knowledge that the money or property would or may be used for terrorism, or where the offender did not know or suspect that the money would or may be used for terrorism. This is an issue that has been raised in case law recently and so the Council has chosen to take this opportunity to assist sentencers by providing greater guidance. What will be the impact on sentence length? Overall, under the draft guideline, sentences are anticipated to increase in some cases, however any increase in sentence lengths will be a result of the recent legislative changes, rather than the guideline. The revised sentencing guideline therefore aims to ensure that future sentencing for terrorism offences is in line with the intention of Parliament when it increased the maximum penalties for some of these offences, while at the same time ensuring consistency of sentencing for these offences. As ever, we will remain vigilant and ensure that all guidance is properly adhered to. As the sentencing process becomes ever more complex our advocates are careful to guard against inadvertent error. The new guidelines are expected to come in to force around April 2020. How we can assist If you need specialist advice in relation to any criminal investigation or prosecution, then get in touch with Ashmans Solicitors New Anti Terrorism Powers
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Drink Driving - The Reality10/1/2019 Many people have an image of a typical drink driver: overweight man, staggering from the pub after an all-day session and getting into his car. A few minutes later that car being pulled over by police officers due to erratic driving.
Dewsbury Solicitors That is sometimes the story, but not the most common one that we see. It is more likely to be similar to Sue's story. Sue leaves the party, sensibly gets into a taxi and later catches a few hours sleep before the next workday begins. She feels a little tired but otherwise perfectly fine. Sue embarks on a leisurely drive along a familiar route until out of nowhere a car appears. Her journey is broken by the sound of scraping bumpers and an angry motorist demanding insurance details. A miserable start to her day! On the plus side, nobody is hurt, it's a simple insurance job. That is until the traffic chaos catches the attention of a passing patrol car. Sue's nightmare is about to begin Ten minutes later Sue is in handcuffs on her way to a police station. Eight hours later she is charged with drink driving. Two days later she has been banned from driving for 18 months and shamed in the local paper. A vast number of people find themselves before the court as a result of the 'morning after' effects of alcohol consumption. Whilst we can make assumptions about the average time it might take for alcohol to leave our system, these are rarely accurate in real life. The drink drive limit is quite low, so there is little margin for error. Even quite moderate alcohol consumption in the evening can leave you over the legal limit the morning after. Otherwise sensible, law-abiding and hardworking people find themselves before a court facing not only a loss of licence but sometimes a loss of employment as well. Drink Driving Defence How we can help We would sooner not see you at all, but if you do face court proceedings, do not confront them alone. We all make mistakes. Contact Ashmans Solicitors 03330096275 . Alternatively email us [email protected] Undercover Cops
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The television drama 'Line of Duty' continues to captivate audiences keen to discover the identity of 'H' and the top copper involved in organised crime gangs.
Central to the plot of this series has been undercover cop John Corbett, who met with an unexpected and grisly end in episode 4. Having been sent in to expose the workings of organised crime gangs, he appeared to go bandit and was involved in armed robbery and murder, despite appearing otherwise legitimate when trying to convince AC12 officer Steve Arnott that he was near to uncovering the police officer at the head of the plot. So, how near to real life is this scenario? The role of undercover police officers is well documented, but surprisingly there is little statutory control over what they can and cannot do. They cannot, of course, kill people, otherwise than with a lawful excuse, such as self-defence, but by necessity, they have to get involved in some level of criminality otherwise they would be quickly exposed. The difficulty lies when the boundaries become blurred; can we always tell when an officer is a bystander or lowly participant, and when, as in the case of John Corbett, they appear to be the instigator of a serious crime? Solicitors In Dewsbury At the moment there is an enquiry underway concerning undercover policing, but its findings are some years away yet. In the meantime defence lawyers need to carefully peel away the layers of secrecy, navigating public interest immunity obstacles in a fight to uncover the real story of their client's involvement in alleged criminality. This work can be slow and painstaking, but experienced lawyers know the law inside out and are well placed to ensure that your corner is appropriately defended. Only by shining a light on this often secret police world can a jury fully explore all of the facts and arrive at a just verdict. As serious crime becomes every more organised and sophisticated, and traditional surveillance techniques are frustrated by modern technology and encryption, it is likely that the police will have to rely even more on old school techniques to gather evidence. But we also know that human behaviour is complex and undercover police do not always keep to the rules, on occasion being guilty themselves of crime and encouraging others to commit crimes that they otherwise may not have (a legal concept called entrapment). How we can assist If you need specialist advice, then get in touch with Ashmans Solicitors 03330096275 and let us help, we have the necessary skills and experience to assist you in respect to any criminal investigation or prosecution. Alternatively email us [email protected] Up- Skirting What is it |