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

Racist incidents statistics

Minister for Community Safety Roseanna Cunningham has cautiously welcomed figures showing a decrease in racist incidents recorded by the police in Scotland in 2010-11.

Ms Cunningham said that there are still far too many hate crimes taking place across the country and warned against complacency in light of more up-to-date Crown Office prosecution statistics published last month. These showed an increase in the number of charges reported to the Procurator Fiscal by the police and other agencies for racism and other forms of hatred in 2011-12.

The ‘Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2010-11' statistics show:

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McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

Fines collection at its highest rate ever

Fines collection is at its highest rate ever in Scotland. A report issued by the Scottish Court Service shows that 88% of the value of sheriff court fines imposed over a three year period from 2008 to 2011 has either been paid or is on track to be paid through instalments.

In re-enforcing the message that all outstanding fines will be robustly pursued, targeted action has been taken in Glasgow against fines defaulters who have made no payment towards their Fiscal fine or Police anti-social behaviour fixed penalty.

A range of tactics were used to pursue offenders including tracing facilities and out of hours telephone calls.

Since 2008, more than 400,900 enforcement orders have been granted by the courts and officers have agreed revised terms in almost 130,900 accounts.

In looking to use technology as much as possible, a new automated system for processing benefit deductions has freed up staff time to pursue fine defaulters and nearly a quarter of a million pounds was collected in the last six months through automatic benefit deductions.

Most fines, including parking or police tickets, can now be paid online. Only fines which involve the endorsement of a driving licence with penalty points cannot be paid electronically including some police traffic tickets and penalties issued by Safety Camera Partnerships for speeding or running a red light. In these instances offenders can post their licence or take it in person to any Scottish court.

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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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