Tag: Ministry of Justice

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 31 January 2023.

Vulnerable victims in up to 4,600 cases involving crimes including sexual abuse and rape will be able to avoid giving their evidence in a full courtroom every year according to new estimates from the Ministry of Justice.

The estimates are published alongside new legislation which will for the first-time mean barristers are paid specifically for this work as part of the Government’s £138m extra annual investment in criminal legal aid.

Since September, victims of crimes including rape and sexual assault have been able to pre-record their cross-examination ahead of trial in every Crown Court in England and Wales following a Government-funded rollout of new technology.

This helps victims avoid the stress of giving evidence under full glare of a live trial setting, which many find traumatic.

This latest forecast shows that up to three times as many victims and witnesses could now be supported in this way compared to in the last two years, helping more of them achieve justice and boosting rape convictions.

The increase in fees will see lawyers paid £804, including VAT, for carrying out this work and ensure they are further incentivised to undertake the pre-recorded parts of these trials, potentially boosting capacity further.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said:

We have overhauled the support victims of rape receive and this latest investment will mean more have their voices heard in court without retraumatising them.

Paying barristers specifically for this work will help make sure more victims have this option and is another part of our work to boost rape convictions.

Pre-recorded cross-examination technology is available to certain victims of sexual and modern slavery offences in all Crown Courts in England and Wales. It is also available to vulnerable victims, such as children and those whose quality of evidence is likely to be diminished because of a mental or physical condition.

Measures allow for evidence to be given as close to the time of the offence as possible while memories remain fresh, increasing the likelihood of vulnerable witnesses achieving justice.

It is designed to maintain a defendant’s right to a fair trial and any decision to pre-record evidence is made by a judge on a case-by-case basis.

This new fee for lawyers taking evidence in this way will apply to all new cases from tomorrow (1 February 2023). It will come on top of existing fees for attending court and ground rules hearings where a judge can consider any special measures for vulnerable victims and witnesses.

This £4 million investment is part of the Government’s £138m annual increase in criminal legal aid spending.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 25 January 2023.

On October 4 2022 the Justice Secretary announced plans to reform our policy on the allocation of transgender prisoners. Under the reforms, transgender women with male genitalia, or those who have been convicted of a sexual offence, should no longer be held in the general women’s estate.

This will create a strong presumption, but allow for exemptions to be considered by Ministers on a case-by-case basis – though only the most truly exceptional cases will be considered.

We will be publishing an updated policy framework shortly, which will set out the new guidance in detail and how it will be implemented by the Prison Service. The implementation of this new policy will take effect soon after we have published the revised framework.

The safety of all prisoners is paramount. These changes will ensure a sensitive and common-sense approach to meeting the needs of women in custody, while we continue to ensure that transgender prisoners are appropriately supported in whichever estate they are located in.

Question: Where are transgender prisoners currently placed?

The placement of transgender prisoners is subject to a thorough risk-assessment in every case. More than 90% of transgender women in prison are housed in men’s prisons, and most do not request a move to a women’s prison. There is no obligation to move transgender prisoners according to their wishes.

Transgender women without a Gender Recognition Certificate – i.e. who are not legally female – are initially sent to a male prison as a matter of course.

Question: What will happen as a result of these new changes?

As a result of the new policy, transgender women who are in future sentenced to custody and

• have male genitalia

OR

• who have been convicted of sexual offences

will not serve their sentences in the general women’s estate unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Question: Does that mean transgender women currently in the women’s estate will be moved into male prisons?

In relation to transgender women currently in the women’s estate, there will be a thorough assessment of individuals – both the risks to them and any risks they pose to others – before any move is considered. Transgender women who cannot be held safely in either the male or female estate can be held in a specialist unit.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 21 January 2023.

Thousands of at-risk teens are set to pick up their racquets and lace up their football boots as part of a bid to keep them on the straight and narrow, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced today (21 January 2023).

More than 200 grassroots organisations across England and Wales have been awarded cash from the government’s £5 million Youth Justice Sports Fund to run local sports schemes – from climbing to kayaking – that will help keep vulnerable young people away from crime and antisocial behaviour.

The number of children caught up in crime is at a historical low – falling by 81 percent since 2010 but youth crime still costs the taxpayer £1.5 billion a year. Research shows 80 per cent of prolific adult offenders started on their path of crime when children, making the need to steer more young people away from lawbreaking all the more critical.

Announcing the news, the Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab visited ThruLife – one of the projects which have been awarded funding – at a local school in Tottenham, north London.

Joined by ThruLife founder Richard Allicock and Sky Sports pundit Jobi McAnuff, the Deputy Prime Minister swapped into his trainers as he joined penalty practice with youngsters at their after-school football club.

Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, Dominic Raab, said:

I know first-hand how powerful sport and mentoring can be in turning young lives around.

Sport has the power to boost confidence, build resilience and teach discipline, and evidence suggests sports can be effective in reducing offending among young people. That’s why we’re supporting over 200 organisations across England and Wales to encourage more young people to engage with sport and stay away from crime.

One of the surest ways to keep young people on the right path is to give them the skills to succeed in life – something sports schemes can provide, building young people’s resilience, self-confidence and discipline while engaging in a fun activity.

Emerging evidence suggests that sports-based intervention programmes – such as the Youth Sports Fund – can lead to improvements in offending. We know that early intervention done well reduces offending, for example, the

Supporting Families programme showed a 35 per cent reduction in youth prison sentences and a 15 per cent reduction in youth convictions.

Former Crystal Palace midfielder, Sky Sports commentator, and ThruLife ambassador Jobi McAnuff said:

Organisations like ThruLife do amazing work. I know how important activities and places like this are, and to have positive role models, particularly in areas like this where I grew up.

You can’t take shortcuts in life, whether that’s to be a professional footballer or whatever you want to achieve. There will be tough times in life, so if you have a passion for something like sport, it can help you to stay positive and committed.

Tom* who regularly attends ThruLife said:

ThruLife has helped me to grow in confidence through the sports sessions I attend teaching me and others different skills that would better place us on our journey through life, and to help us make positive choices.

Richard Allicock, the founder of Thru Life, said:

We are delighted to have been awarded this funding, which will help us to continue the positive work that we are doing in the community but also extend our offer to engage with more young people across the borough of Haringey utilising the powers of sport through our mentoring offer.

In November last year, the Deputy Prime Minister invited sports charities and organisations from across the country to bid for the £5 million fund, which saw hundreds of sports schemes apply.

Today, over 200 organisations across England and Wales have been awarded cash to run projects from climbing to boxing with vulnerable teens. Bidders were marked on whether they could show a track-record of helping young people at risk of falling into crime and antisocial behaviour to keep their noses clean.

The £5 million pot of money builds on the government’s existing support for local authorities’ Youth Offending Teams nationwide – which has seen over £730 million worth of funding provided in the last 5 years.

Minister for Sport, Civil Society & Youth Stuart Andrew said:

We believe every young person should get the best start in life. Doing sport is a brilliant way of building focus and discipline while also improving physical health and stopping people becoming involved in crime.

This funding will help make sure people are set on the right path from the outset.

The Sports Fund has been co-ordinated by StreetGames and the Alliance of Sport for Criminal Justice, with the support of the Sport for Development Coalition – an umbrella of more than 250 charities in the sports sector.

Stuart Felce, StreetGames Director of Sport and Community Safety, said:

At StreetGames we believe that community sport, delivered in the right way, can have a transformational impact on children’s lives and the communities they live in. We’re really excited to be partnering with the Sport for Development Coalition and the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice to deliver this ambitious new programme from the Ministry of Justice. This investment in sport will support voluntary and community sports organisations to carry out targeted work to enhance positive outcomes for vulnerable children, providing the practical and emotional support they need to grow and helping to keep them and their communities safe.

Hitesh Patel, Executive Director of the Coalition, added:

Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour is a core element of the Coalition’s #OpenGoal framework, which shows how the multiple returns on investment created by sport for development can help to generate significant public cost savings. We are delighted to be working alongside StreetGames and the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice to ensure this new funding supports and strengthens those organisations that can already demonstrate the positive social impact they are having on their local communities.

The funding also delivers on the commitment made in the Prisons Strategy White Paper – published in December 2022 – to cut youth crime and create safer streets.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 19 January 2023.

The number of people tagged has reached record highs following the government’s drive to use technology to make streets safer.

Statistics released today (19 January 2023) show the number of offenders, defendants and people on immigration bail tagged at any one point increased 10 per cent last year from 14,335 in December 2021 to 15,760 in December 2022.

It shows the impact of the government’s rollout of innovative GPS and alcohol tags to track the physical movements and limit the drinking of more criminals over the last 18 months.

Offenders banned from alcohol by the courts have stayed sober on 97% of the days they were tagged, but those who do drink can face returning to court for further punishment, including prison.

The figures also show a 79 per cent increase in the number of people wearing a GPS tag in the last year – from 3,188 on 31 December 2021 to 5,694 a year later.

More than 1,700 burglars, robbers and thieves were made to wear a tag and have their movements tracked in 2022, bringing the total to over 2,500 since GPS tagging was expanded to acquisitive criminals in 2021.

Police forces have been using the new location monitoring GPS tags to successfully help solve a series of neighbourhood crimes, including an armed robbery in Derbyshire, a car theft in Cheshire and a house burglary in Kent. In all these cases the innovative technology helped police catch and convict offenders and they were all handed prison sentences.

The number of offenders wearing alcohol monitoring ‘sobriety’ tags on a given day has also doubled – increasing from 773 to 1,859 in the last year following the national rollout of sobriety tags for prison leavers in June 2022 to tackle booze-fuelled crime.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, said:

Thousands of offenders are being tagged each year to crackdown on crime thanks to our investment in cutting-edge technology.

We’ve more than doubled the number of offenders wearing alcohol tags and have been GPS tagging thousands more burglars and robbers – to reduce reoffending and keep our communities safer.

GPS monitoring equipment is specifically deployed across 19 police force areas – roughly half of England and Wales – so that burglars, robbers and thieves that have served a prison sentence of 90 days or more are tagged on release. Their whereabouts will be monitored by GPS satellites for up to 12 months. It is part of a trial to evaluate how tags can help deter and detect crime with over 10,000 criminals expected to be tagged by 2025.

Alcohol tags are another part of the government’s £183 million investment over the next 3 years, with roughly 12,000 offenders expected to be given an alcohol tag to wear during this period.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 19 January 2023.

Children born as a result of rape will be officially recognised as victims of crime and receive better support under changes announced by the government today.

It means England and Wales will be among the first countries in the world to enshrine in law that individuals born in these horrific circumstances should be treated as victims in their own right.

The government will amend its upcoming Victims Bill to make this change to clarify that these children are entitled to support from criminal justice agencies such as the police and courts.

At present, the lack of explicit reference to people born as a result of rape in the Victims’ Code makes it unnecessarily difficult for them to claim support and entitlements such as being provided with information about their case.

It follows a recommendation from the Justice Select Committee who fed back on the government’s draft bill in September 2022. The landmark piece of legislation seeks to put the needs and voices of victims firmly at the heart of the justice system and increase the accountability of agencies for the service they provide to them. It includes a new duty on the CPS to meet victims in certain cases before trial.

It is estimated that thousands of children are conceived from rape each year and the government is determined to ensure they receive the support they deserve.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab MP said:

No child born in these horrific circumstances should be left to suffer alone, which is why we must ensure they can access vital support whenever they may need it.

Our Victims Bill will amplify their voices and boost support for all victims at every stage of the justice system.

Since 2010 funding for victim support services has quadrupled as part of the government’s commitment to deliver better outcomes for victims and this change will provide these people with better access to the wide range of support all victims of crime should expect.

This includes making it easier to access therapy and counselling sessions. Such support will help deconstruct self-blame and shame, help victims come to terms with family issues and offer psychological guidance to develop coping mechanisms for processing difficult emotions.

The change will also provide greater recognition from support services, including from advocacy services, who can help with a range of issues such as alcohol and drug misuse and provide guidance on accessing education and housing benefit.

The amendments apply to children born as a result of rape whatever age they are and will cover all sexual offences which can result in a pregnancy, for example, position of trust offences.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 18 January 2023.

The Secretary of State, Rt Hon. Dominic Raab MP, confirmed today (18 January 2023) that the preferred candidate to be the next Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) is Adrian Usher.

Adrian Usher has been selected following a rigorous assessment process conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. The PPO is appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice and the process regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments

The role is subject to pre-appointment hearing by the Justice Select Committee. Pre-appointment scrutiny is an important part of the appointment process for some of the most significant public appointments made by Ministers. It is designed to provide an added level of scrutiny to the appointment process. Pre-appointment hearings are held in public and allow a Select Committee to take evidence before a candidate is appointed. Ministers consider the Committee’s views before deciding whether to proceed with the appointment.

The role of the PPO was established in 1994 to be an independent adjudicator of complaints from prisoners following the Woolf Inquiry into the 1990 riots at Strangeways and other prisons. Its remit has since expanded to include probation complaints and complaints from immigration detainees. Further, the PPO now carries out investigations into deaths of prisoners, young people in detention, approved premises’ residents and immigration detainees.

The PPO’s office is operationally independent of, though sponsored by, the MOJ. The role is not defined in legislation but works to the Terms of Reference set by the Secretary of State.

Biography

Mr Usher has had an extensive career as a Senior Police Officer for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), joining in 2003. He has previously served on both Counter-Terrorism and Anti-Corruption Commands and has been a Senior Investigating Officer in a variety of roles. Currently, he is the Commander for Learning and Development in the MPS where he leads the training requirements across policing operations including changing training to accommodate new legislation, judicial and law enforcement best practice and improving policing standards.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 15 January 2023.

Game-changing X-ray body scanners have foiled more than 28,000 attempts to smuggle drugs, phones and weapons behind bars as the war on prison rule breakers picks up speed.

Over the last 2 years, more than 90 new advanced scanners have been installed in all closed male jails, producing high-resolution images of concealed contraband so staff can stop more dangerous items from getting in and causing havoc on prison landings.

This tough new security has captured and confiscated illegal contraband concealed on prisoners including mobile phones, vapes and improvised weapons.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, said:

Our tough new security measures in prisons are putting prisoners back on the straight and narrow. Allied to our renewed drive to get prisoners off drugs for good, we are cutting crime and keeping the public safe.

This new development comes just days after the government announced plans to roll out cutting-edge baggage scanners to 45 prisons across England and Wales. These will check bags brought in by the thousands of staff and visitors who enter prisons every day – cutting off another route of smuggling. Together these measures have kept mobile phones, drugs and improvised weapons out of the hands of prisoners where they would fuel violence and disorder.

The government’s investment of up to £125 million in next-generation prison security measures has also seen the most challenging prisons kitted out with new handheld and archway metal detectors, and more than 150 specially trained drug sniffer dogs.

This investment has created a new team of specialist investigators to clamp down on the small minority of corrupt staff who have no place in the Prison Service.

And to clamp down on the pernicious smuggling of drugs via prison mail, jails have installed over 135 drug trace detection machines that can detect microscopic smears of new psychoactive substances such as ‘spice’ on letters and items of clothing.

These advances deliver on the government’s commitments outlined in the Prisons Strategy White Paper. This will also see the rollout of abstinence-based treatment for prisoners addicted to drugs or alcohol and tougher sentences for terrorist prisoners who break the rules behind bars.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 10 January 2023.

The press release issued by Ministry of Justice on 7 January 2023.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 5 January 2023.

The review will commission an external economic analysis of the civil legal aid market to better understand how people access funding and support.

It will encompass all categories of civil legal aid provision, with in-depth analysis into areas including family, housing, mental health, education, discrimination and immigration. It will also consider value for taxpayers’ money of future policy options and take into account wider budgetary restraints on the department.

As well as an assessment of how such systems work in other comparable countries, the review will also include publications of further data on how civil legal aid is accessed and delivered across England and Wales to help inform future decisions.

Once complete, the government can consider options from the review for moving to a more effective, more efficient and more sustainable system for legal providers and the people who rely on legal aid.

Civil legal aid can help people cover the costs of legal help and representation for issues such as disputes with a landlord, managing debts or seeking protection from domestic abuse. It is delivered by providers such as law centres, private firms and non-profit organisations.

Justice Minister, Lord Bellamy, said:

This comprehensive review will give us a wealth of evidence on the civil legal aid systems, how services are provided, and of the issues facing the market.

Identifying how we can make provision work best for everyone will help ensure we are building a more efficient and effective system to deliver sustainable legal aid support well into the future.

The government will issue a tender this month inviting third parties to bid to undertake the external analysis.

The final report is due to be published in 2024.