Crime

This Law Commission bill seeks to consolidate existing sentencing legislation into a single sentencing statute. The Sentencing Bill is a consolidation bill that will introduce the sentencing code. The aim of the code is to provide a clear and comprehensive source of sentencing procedure legislation for the public, the judiciary and practitioners.

Following recent terrorist attacks in the UK, discussion has increased about deradicalisation programmes in UK prisons. This article discusses what deradicalisation programmes are, the effectiveness of the programmes, and the Government’s recent commitments to tackle terrorism.

Several domestic abuse charities have reported an increase in calls and web traffic during lockdown. This article examines how the coronavirus pandemic on domestic abuse cases and discusses what action the Government has taken to tackle such abuse. The impact that the pandemic is having on the victims of domestic abuse is the subject of an oral question in the House of Lords on 29 June 2020.

As the coronavirus pandemic has led to children spending more time online, concerns have been raised that there is an increased risk of online-facilitated child sexual abuse and exploitation. This article examines these concerns and what the Government has done to reduce the risks.

Royal commissions have fallen out of use over recent decades, but they could be set to make a return. The Conservative manifesto of 2019 promised to set up a royal commission on the criminal justice system. This briefing looks at the background to royal commissions.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on prisons and offenders. This article looks at why this population are more at risk from the outbreak, what the current situation is in England and Wales, and what the Government have announced to help support prisons and offenders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This article examines the potential pressures the Covid-19 pandemic may put on policing, along with the changes that have been made to help forces manage.

The UK Government has recognised that it is “imperative” that support is given to people on low incomes to access justice. However successive governments, parliamentary committees and stakeholders have identified barriers to vulnerable people accessing the necessary advice and legal services.

This bill would legally require the Parole Board to consider offenders’ failure to disclose either the location of victims’ remains or the identity of child victims in indecent images when assessing whether that offender should be released from prison.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading and remaining stages of the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill scheduled to take place in the House of Lords on 24 February 2020.

In February 2020, the Conservative Government announced a consultation on whether non-payment of the TV licence fee should be decriminalised. This article summarises the arguments for and against decriminalisation and it provides statistics on license fee evasion prosecutions and imprisonments.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been published ahead of the scheduled second reading of the Extradition (Provisional Arrest) Bill [HL] on 4 February 2020.

The House of Lords Library Briefing explores the nature of Serious and Organised Crime in the UK. It includes statistics on the scale of the problem as well as information on the response by the Government and the National Crime Agency.

This House of Lords Library Briefing sets out how the police service in the UK is governed, including details of recent reforms. It also focuses on how the police are held accountable for their actions through systems of oversight and complaints.

This House of Lords Library Briefing describes recent measures introduced by the footballing authorities, individual clubs and social media companies to tackle racism in football, and details existing legislation in this area.