It cannot have gone unnoticed, that sentence lengths in the Crown Court have increased exponentially in recent years. Sentences of over 30 years for drug convictions were, only five years ago, almost unheard of. Not so now. Figures released in 2024 show that there has been an average sentence length increase from 14.5 months to […]
Is There to be a Reversal in the Trend of Huge Sentence Increases? Read More »
The prison population of England and Wales has hit a record high after rising by nearly 1,000 in four weeks. Labour has also activated Operation Early Dawn in parts of England and Wales where defendants will be summoned to a magistrates court only when a space in prison is available. The sharp increase is believed to have been driven
Prison Population hits record high in England and Wales Read More »
Potter Derby Solicitors are delighted to announce that we have been awarded a legal aid contract to undertake family law work. We will be taking family law instructions from 1 September 2024. Further information will follow in due course.
Potter Derby Solicitors awarded Family Legal Aid Contract Read More »
On Thursday 01 August, and Sunday 04 August, during addresses to the nation, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he was establishing a ‘National Capability’ force to deal with those involved in the violent protests engulfing England and Northern Ireland. This would include extra police officers, courts running 24 hours a day, and prison spaces
Labour Government Civil Unrest Announcement – Defence Lawyers Response Read More »
Courts will reportedly sit for 24-hours a day in the wake of far-right violence sweeping across the country. Ministers met with senior members of the judiciary for emergency talks on Saturday as the far-right clashed with police and counter-protesters in major UK cities and towns. Violence broke out between groups in places such as Sunderland,
With the maximum capacity for prisoners in England and Wales standing at just over 87,000, the available places is reported to be in the low hundreds. The system is at crisis point, and has been for some time now, and with no apparent solution to remedy this crisis The new Labour government has pledged to
Prisoners to Serve Less Time in Custody on Their Sentences? Read More »
The latest published review of criminal defence firms has been released, and it provides for depressing reading No publicly funded service has had to endure the cuts inflicted from successive governments provided by the Conservative and Labour parties. Since 1999, legal aid for criminal cases has been slashed by an enormous 50%. The crisis within
Mortal Crisis in Criminal Defence Solicitors Firms Read More »
Nearly four in five prisons do not have enough officers trained to deal with riots as part of so-called “Tornado” squads, despite rising violence and disorder behind bars, The Independent can reveal. With the prisons crisis a major concern ahead of the general election, prison officers responded to the revelations by accusing Rishi Sunak’s government
Scandalous’ Riot Prison officer shortage Read More »
The Lord Chancellor is triggering an emergency measure, Operation Early Dawn, to deal with the worsening problem of the prison population. Details are somewhat lacking but it appears to be an extension of early release and other measures, but there is a particular measure affecting Magistrates\’ courts in England (but not Wales at the moment).
Prison System at Breaking Point Read More »
The significant increase in reported cases of Cuckooing, has not gone unnoticed to the Home Secretary Mr James Cleverly. Cuckooing, is when a criminal gang takes over a vulnerable persons home to commit specific crimes. In a recent statement released by the Home Secretary, Mr Cleverly highlighted the link between those Cuckooing gangs and County
Home Secretary to Crack Down on ‘Cuckooing’ Crime Read More »
