Local police and crime commissioners committed to fighting rural crime

Police and crime commissioners from across the eastern region signed a Rural Crime Concordat on Friday, pledging to work across county borders to tackle crime issues affecting rural communities.

The four commissioners – from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire were attending a rural crime summit hosted by Norfolk PCC Lorne Green, to give Norfolk’s rural communities, organisations, land and business owners the opportunity to have their say on the county’s proposed new rural policing strategy.

Read the full news story here.

Change in policy needed for young adults in the criminal justice system

Dealing effectively with young adults while their brains are still developing is crucial for them in making successful transitions to a crime-free adulthood, says a report published by the Justice Committee this week.

Research strongly supports the view that young adults are a distinct group with needs that are different both from children under 18 and adults older than 25, underpinned by the developmental process which is still taking place at this age. In the context of the criminal justice system this is important as young people who commit crime typically stop doing so by their mid-20s.

Those who decide to stop committing crime can have their efforts to achieve this frustrated by the consequences of having a criminal record, and difficulties in achieving financial independence due to the lack of access to affordable accommodation or well-paid employment as wages and benefits are typically lower for this age group.

The report concludes that there is overwhelming evidence that the criminal justice system doesn’t adequately address the distinct needs of young adults, and therefore argues that there is a strong case for a distinct approach to the treatment of young adults in the criminal justice system.

Read the full report here.

Government report on the future role of Magistrates published

On Monday, the House of Commons Justice Committee published their report on the role of Magistracy, which focussed on:
– The role of the magistracy within the criminal justice system;
– The method and rate of recruitment for magistrates;
– Training and development available;
– The effect of court closures on their work;
– Whether the role of magistrates should be expanded.

The report concluded that the magistracy faces a range of unresolved issues relating to its role and its workload, together with serious problems with recruitment and training, which should now be addressed as a matter of urgency.

The Justice Committee recommended that the Ministry of Justice, together with the senior judiciary, develop an over-arching strategy for the magistracy, to include workforce planning, magistrates’ training and the wider promotion of their role, especially to employers. The strategy should also take into account the impact of court closures and consider whether the role of magistrates could be expanded, in particular within any proposals for problem solving courts.

Read the full report here.

Domestic abuse video launched to encourage victims to #break the routine

A new video was launched last week by Victim Support and the National Centre for Domestic Violence, to raise awareness of the help available to anyone needing support. It uses a dance routine to highlight how people can get trapped in a routine of escalating violence and abuse that they feel powerless to break, whilst also demonstrating that there is a way out; encouraging victims to #breaktheroutine.

The video was created by leading international creative agency J Walter Thompson London, and uses an exclusive Ellie Goulding track as backing music, which was donated at no cost. It aims to capture the very complex feelings and range of emotions that can be experienced in an abusive relationship and to dispel the myth that abusive relationships should be easy to leave.

Figures show that on average people experience over two years of abuse before getting specialist help. 1.9 million people experienced domestic abuse last year and almost two people a week were killed by their current or former partner.

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CPS publishes new social media guidance and launches Hate Crime consultation

CPS has published new guidance this week setting out the range of offences for which social media users could face prosecution. This has been informed by public consultation and will be used determine whether criminal charges should be pursued.

Examples of potentially criminal behaviour include:
– encouraging others to participate in online harassment campaigns, known as ‘virtual mobbing’;
– making available personal information, for example a home address or bank details, a practice known as ‘doxxing’;
– creating a derogatory hashtag to encourage harassment of victims;
– ‘baiting’- the practice of humiliating a person online by labelling them as sexually promiscuous or posting ‘photoshopped’ images of people on social media platforms.

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This week also sees the launch of CPS Public Policy Statements on Hate Crime which will now be put to a public consultation. These will focus on crimes against disabled people, racial and religious and homophobic and transphobic hate crime.

The consultation runs until 9 January 2017.

Find out more.