Criminal Defence Lawyers Edinburgh

McSporrans criminal solicitors' latest news on all aspects of criminal & road traffic law.
McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

Government investing to reduce reoffending

Funding has been awarded by the Scottish Government to 23 organisations working across Scotland to help break the cycle of reoffending.

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McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

Tougher checks for sex offenders

All registered sex offenders in England and Wales now face much tougher checks. The new measures are intended to tighten areas of the current law that could be open to exploitation by offenders who seek to cause harm.

The changes, which the government announced in March this year following a 12 week consultation, will make it mandatory for sex offenders to notify the police:

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McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

Lowest number of homicides since 1983

Overall crime measured by the 2011/12 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW, formerly the British Crime Survey) was unchanged from the previous year, according to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, the provisional number of homicides (550) recorded by the police in 2011/12 dropped by 14% to the lowest level since 1983 (also 550).

Crimes recorded by the police fell by 4% in 2011/12, continuing the downward trend seen in recent years. Just under four million offences were recorded by the police, the lowest since 2002/03. Overall police recorded violent crime in England and Wales dropped by 7% (from 822,000 offences in 2010/11 to 763,000 offences in 2011/12) and robberies by 2%.

While burglary and vehicle theft recorded by the police also fell, other theft offences have risen by 2%, following a 4% rise the previous year. This was driven by increases in theft of unattended property (including personal property and commercial property such as metal), thefts from the person (such as pickpocketing), bicycle theft and shoplifting.

While the latest figures from the CSEW show no change in overall levels of acquisitive crime, this should be viewed in the context of large reductions since the mid 1990s. The latest estimates indicate that five in every 100 vehicle-owning households were victims of vehicle-related theft compared with 20 in 100 in 1995.

McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

Drop in offensive weapon crimes

The Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC has welcomed the drop in crimes of handling an offensive weapon reported in the statistical bulletin published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician. The publication presents statistics on crimes and offences recorded and cleared up by the eight Scottish police forces in 2011-12.

The figures show that crimes of handling an offensive weapon (which includes possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point) have decreased by 10% since 2010-11. This is a 44% decrease since 2006-07.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service implemented a strengthened knife crime policy on 22nd July 2011. The overall aim of the policy is to reduce offending and re-offending and to provide an effective deterrent.

The knife crime policy states: Anyone found in possession of a knife: on licensed premises; when local gang involvement is probable; at a ‘hot spot’ for violence; and on public transport or at a bus or train station, are now prosecuted on petition and their guilt decided by a Sheriff and jury rather than by summary complaint.

This allows a greater sentencing power for the Sheriff and increases the maximum prison term from one to four years. There is a presumption in favour of prosecution on indictment where the accused has previously been convicted of a relevant offence or has a previous conviction for a violent offence involving the use of a knife. And there is also a presumption in favour of opposing bail when the knife is presented or brandished if the case falls into any of these categories.

McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

New campaign launched for anniversary of motor insurance law

As the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) law to tackle uninsured motoring reaches its one year anniversary, statistics show good progress but also that that there is still work to be done as there are an estimated 1.2 million uninsured drivers on our roads.

Under the scheme it is an offence to be the keeper of an uninsured vehicle. The DVLA database is cross-checked with the Motor Insurance Database (MID) and a letter is sent to the vehicle keeper to alert them that no insurance record can be found, which will result in penalties and fines if no action is taken.

Research carried out after the new law was rolled out last year revealed that while the general awareness of the legislation is good (65%), there is still more than a third (35%) of adults stating that they ‘definitely don’t know’ about the change in law. The survey also highlights that almost half of 16 – 24-year-olds (46%) are unaware of the change in law.

Roads Safety Minister, Mike Penning said: “It is reassuring to note that so many motorists have an awareness of the rules and that the number of uninsured drivers has dropped.

“However, we are not complacent and that is why we continue to remind motorists that if they receive a warning letter they should take action immediately by getting insurance or contacting the DVLA to declare their vehicle off the road.

“Failure to act will result in a fine, court action or seeing your car seized and destroyed.”

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McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

Support for victims and witnesses

Providing more help and support for victims and witnesses whilst making offenders more accountable for their crimes is key to building a better criminal justice system, the Justice Secretary has said.

Ahead of the Bill to support victims and witnesses, the Scottish Government has published a consultation to hear views on what measures would have the most impact. 

During the eight week consultation, interested groups will be encouraged to give their views on the consultation proposals, which include:

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