Interpreting in the Criminal Justice System: the row over qualifications

Interpreters are a vital part of the Criminal Justice System, and a defendant’s right to have an interpreter is protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2000, seven-year-old Victoria Climbié, from the Cote d’Ivoire had been interviewed by police and social services prior to her death. Language mediation… Currently, minimum qualification requirements needed to be an interpreter in court differ from those needed to interpret for the police. ...

Reoffending projects given government funding

Eleven new projects will be supported by the £20 million initiative, which itself comes from the £220 million package aimed at reducing crime. The Prison Leavers Project has been split into three different approaches; cross-sector teams, Local Leadership and Integration Fund and Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge. The 11 pilot projects… The Prison Leavers Project is a cross-government project that works to improve the re-integration of prison leavers back into society. ...

Government not doing enough to tackle fall in rape prosecutions

The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has today published its report into the collapse in rape prosecutions over recent years. While the Committee welcomes the work being done by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to try to reverse what it calls a “precipitous” fall in prosecutions over… Work with offenders on today’s report by the Home Affairs Committee...

Barristers take action over legal aid funding concerns

There are 2,400 full-time criminal barristers, and 94.35 per cent of the 1,908 members who participated in a Criminal Bar Association (CBA) ballot voted in favour of the action last month. The action is by all criminal barristers and does not have an end date. It will see barristers refusing… Criminal barristers in England and Wales began the open-ended industrial action this week. ...

Technology 'lets down' remote court links Magistrates report finds

The Magistrates’ Association, assisted by the charity Transform Justice, has today published a report on magistrates’ experiences of criminal courts during the pandemic. The report makes recommendations for the future use of remote links in magistrates’ courts. The report draws on evidence gathered from 865 magistrates who sat in court… Work with offenders on a new report from the Magistrates’ Association on the use of remote technology during the pandemic ...

Black, Asian and minority ethnic women face discrimination in prison

The Criminal Justice Alliance (CJA) and the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) have published a three-part report, “Towards Race Equality”, that highlights the routine discrimination experienced by many minoritised women in prison. The CJA is a charitable network of 170 organisations all working towards a fairer and more effective criminal justice… Work with offenders on an important new report...

Surviving domestic abuse and having your children taken away

AVA (“Against Violence & Abuse”) is a leading UK charity committed to ending gender based violence and abuse. They have just published a new report “Staying Mum” based on peer research with mothers who have survived domestic abuse & child removal. AVA recruited seven women with lived experience of domestic… Work with offenders on a new report from AVA...

A new parole system?

The Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has announced the details of the government’s Root and Branch Review of the Parole System, setting out plans for the future of parole. There are two main themes to the review which, to use the government’s own words, are: To protect the public by keeping… Work with offenders on the government’s “Root and Branch Review” of parole...

Parole Boards ‘must have’ members with police backgrounds says review

The Ministry of Justice is to launch a recruitment campaign to attract more Parole Board members with a policing background after a root and branch review of the system found that only 5 per cent of current members have experience of working in law enforcement. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab described… Policing experience particularly relevant in cases of murder, rape, child killings and terrorism ...

Does street lighting prevent crime?

If you park your car on the street and some of your street lights weren’t working, you might think you’d better get on to the council quick and get them fixed before someone broke into your car overnight. However, new British research suggests you might be better ringing up the… Work with offenders on interesting (and counter-intuitive) new research...