Crime Reduction

PCCs increase policing budgets – MPs

24.05.13: Over a third of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are spending more than the police authorities they were elected to replace, the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee has warned. The committee found that 17 out of 41 PCCs have set high...

IPCC investigation made ‘fundamental errors’

17.05.13: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been criticised for making “fundamental errors” and for clearing police officers of any blame for the death of a man in custody. A review by criminologist Dr Sylvia Casale...

Electoral Commission sets out proposals to cut fraud

14.05.13: Postal voting should be restricted to minimise the opportunity for electoral fraud, the Electoral Commission has suggested. A new consultation has been published seeking views on possible changes to arrangements for voting in person at polling s...

Huhne and Pryce on early release from prison

13.05.13: Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce have been freed from jail after 62 days. The pair had been convicted in March for perverting the course of justice and sentenced to eight months in prison. Under terms of their...

Probation to be privatised via PbR – Grayling

09.05.13: £500m of probation contracts will be outsourced, justice secretary Chris Grayling has announced. It is part of a Government drive to outsource more than half the work supervising criminals in the community and broaden rehabilitation s...

Restrictions proposed for prisoner privileges

30.04.13: Prison ‘privileges’ will have to be earned from November, as the Ministry of Justice introduces changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme. Satellite and cable TV will be banned altogether, and male prisoners in Engl...

‘Preventing crime more important than catching criminals’

29.04.13: The police should focus more on preventing crime in the first place than catching criminals afterwards, the chief inspector of the constabulary has suggested. Tom Winsor, who has spent his first six months in his new role listening to front...

UK becoming much less violent – IEP

24.04.13: Rates of violent crime in the UK have fallen more rapidly over the past ten years than anywhere else in Western Europe, the UK Peace Index shows. The data from the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) found the number of homicides per 10...

Manchester hospitals and police join forces on data

16.04.13: A new initiative is being launched in Manchester today to improve the sharing of data to prevent violent crime. The system will link data from hospitals, local authorities and the police to support preventative policy and activity. Informat...

Legal costs should be charged to criminals – Grayling

09.04.13: Convicted criminals could have to pay for their own legal defence costs, justice secretary Chris Grayling has proposed. The move, which could provide further savings on the £1bn legal aid bill, is part of a consultation document due t...

Legal aid could be scrapped for prisoners’ complaints

04.04.13: Prisoners will be prevented from claiming legal aid to pursue complaints against the prison system, justice secretary Chris Grayling has announced. The Ministry of Justice is consulting on proposals, which could mean 11,000 fewer cases &nda...

Police cautions to be reviewed following concerns about over-use

03.04.13: The use of police cautions in England and Wales is to be reviewed, the Government has announced, as some serious offences may be better dealt with by the courts. Around a third of all serious offences are cautioned, with 11,000 people recei...

UK Border Agency to be abolished – May

27.03.13: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) is to be abolished, the home secretary has announced. The news follows a report by the Commons home affairs select committee, which accused Lin Homer, of “catastrophic leadership failure” while she wa...

Yorkshire police plans published

08.03.13: The Police and Crime Plan for South Yorkshire has been published, including priorities on reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, protecting vulnerable people and improving police visibility. Half a million pounds will be invested to fund...

Focus on suspect, not just abuse victims’ credibility – Starmer

06.03.13: Child abuse guidelines are to be reformed, with more focus on the suspect instead of victims’ credibility, the director of public prosecutions is to announce. Kier Starmer will outline new plans to guide prosecutors and police. C...