Bloody Sunday events outlined in Lord Saville’s report
The Saville Inquiry was the investigation set up to examine the tragic actions that occurred on 30 January 1972 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
On the day named Bloody Sunday, 13 people died after members of the British Army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights marchers in the Bogside area.
Public police complaints need to be resolved by the Commission
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is doing little to prevent complaints against police behaviour despite an ever-increasing workload.
Despite a budget of £35 million per annum the organisation lacks clear success measures. ‘The Work of the Independent Police Complaints Commission’ (HC 366), reports on the urgency for the Commission to reconnect with the public to improve UK policing.
Decision on retention of DNA records must balance public safety against individual privacy recommends report
As a result of growing concern about the increasing size of the police National DNA Database, the Committee decided to take evidence on the subject. This process however was largely overtaken by the introduction of the Crime and Security Bill on 19 November 2009.
'The National DNA Database’ (HC 222-I) now focuses on two main issues:
- the principle of retaining DNA profiles taken from individuals arrested but not subsequently charged or from those charged but not convicted; and
- the lack of consistency in decisions to remove from the database their profiles.
More work must be done on improving prisoner reconviction rates, says NAO
More than 60,000 prisoners serve sentences of under 12 months each year at a cost to National Offender Management Service (NOMS) of around £300 million. These prisoners tend to have more previous convictions than other offenders with an average of 16 previous convictions each and, as a group, they also have a high level of homelessness, joblessness and drug and alcohol problems.
NOMS is successfully keeping the vast majority of short-sentenced prisoners safe and well - a notable achievement in a time of prison overcrowding - but is currently struggling to manage this group effectively, in part because most spend six weeks or less in prison. However the provision of daytime activity for them is generally inadequate to meet HM Inspectorate of Prisons' standards for a healthy prison.
Police spending cuts are announced
'Protecting the Public: Supporting the Police to Succeed’ (Cm 7749) aims to build on reforms laid out in last year's Green Paper, 'From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our Communities Together ‘(Cm. 7448). Over the next five years the increasing challenges faced by the police will need to be met within the context of a much tighter fiscal environment.
42 day detention plans examined
This Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, 'Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights (Eleventh Report): 42 Days and Public Emergencies' (HL 116 / HC 635), comments on the adequacy of the additional safeguards that the Government has indicated it intends to bring forward to meet the human rights concerns about its proposal to extend the maximum period of pre-charge detention to 42 days.
Excessive surveillance 'erodes trust', Government warned
Surveillance is defined as the use of monitoring and recording technology, along with the creation and use of databases of personal information, and the record of communications in the digital age. The potential for surveillance of citizens in public spaces and private communications has increased dramatically over the last decade, making it possible for what the Information Commissioner calls 'the electronic footprint' people leave in their daily lives to be built up into a detailed picture of activities.
This Report from the Home Affairs Committee, 'A Surveillance Society?' (HC 58-I), examines the benefits of surveillance in terms of public safety and public services, and the risks in terms of the consequences of mistakes, misidentification, and loss of sensitive information.
First National Security Strategy set out by Government
The Cold War threat has been replaced by a new set of threats and risks - including international terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, conflicts and failed states, pandemics, and trans-national crime - which affect the United Kingdom directly and have the potential to undermine wider international stability. These threats and risks are driven by a diverse set of underlying factors, including: climate change; competition for energy; poverty and poor governance; demographic changes; and globalisation.
The 'National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom: Security in an Interdependent World' (Cm. 7291) sets out how the Government will address and manage both the risks and the underlying factors that drive them.
Home Office's role in reducing the risk of violent crime considered
This Report from the National Audit Office, 'Reducing the Risk of Violent Crime'
(HC 241), focuses on the role of the Home Office in creating and implementing the appropriate legislative framework and co-ordinating local delivery in order to tackle violent crime.
Use of intercept as evidence recommended
The creation of this Privy Council Review, 'Privy Council Review of Intercept as Evidence: Report to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary'
(Cm. 7324), was announced on 25 July 2007 to 'advise on whether a regime to allow the use of intercepted material in court can be devised that facilitates bringing cases to trial while meeting the overriding imperative to safeguard national security'.
Prison system ‘at a crossroads’
‘HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales - Annual Report 06/07’ (HC 207) covers the period 2006-07. The Report charts the effects on prisons and prisoners of an increasingly pressurised system.
Strategic plan for crime and justice unveiled
This Paper, 'Working
Together to Cut Crime and Deliver Justice - A Strategic Plan for 2008-2011' (Cm
7247), sets out a strategic vision for the UK criminal justice system up to
2011.
Offender Management Act explained
'Explanatory
Notes' to the 'Offender Management Act 2007' have just been published.
The
'Offender
Management Act 2007' received Royal Assent on 26th July 2007 and is
designed to reduce re-offending and better protect the public.
Young black people in the criminal justice
system
Young black people are over-represented at all stages of
the criminal justice system; black people form 2.7% of the population aged
10-17 but represent 8.5% of that age group arrested in England and Wales. They
are more likely to be stopped and searched, less likely to be given
unconditional bail and more likely to be remanded in custody.
Home Office performance reviewed
This publication,
Home
Office Departmental Report 2007, reviews the Home Office's performance
against Spending Review 2004 targets and on key objectives in 2006-07.
Serious Crime Bill human rights questions
In this Report
‘Legislative
Scrutiny: Fifth progress report‘ (HL 91/HC 490), the Joint Committee on
Human Rights draws attention to some human rights compatibility issues
concerning the
Serious
Crime Bill (HL Bill 27).
The main purpose of the Bill is to
introduce Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs), empowering courts to impose
a wide range of prohibitions or requirements in order to prevent harm from
serious crime.
NHS, armed forces and prison officers’ pay
reviewed
These Reports review the salaries of the armed forces,
senior civil servants, prison offers and health professionals, including
doctors, dentists and nurses.
Recommendations set out in these Reports
are applicable from 1 April 2007.
IRA set on political strategy
This assessment, part of the Independent Monitoring
Commission's (IMC) six-monthly cycle of reporting on paramilitary activity,
concludes that the IRA has undergone substantial changes and is firmly set on a
political strategy.
Government responds to Carter Review on Legal Aid
The Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Legal
Services Commission set out reforms to the system of procurement of legal aid
services, moving towards a market-based system.
This Paper is an outline
of Government responses to Lord Carter's proposals for Legal Aid
Procurement.
More agencies given parenting order powers
The Police and Justice Act came into force in November
2006. The objective of the Act is to help build safer communities: measures
drive forward both the police reform programme and the Respect Action Plan.
New powers proposed to fight organised crime
The
Serious
Crime Bill (House of Lords Bill 27) will introduce new powers that will
strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to fight serious organised
crime.
New powers proposed to fight organised crime
The
Serious
Crime Bill (House of Lords Bill 27) will introduce new powers that will
strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to fight serious organised
crime.
Planning system shake-up proposed
'Planning
for a Sustainable Future - White Paper (Cm. 7120)' sets out the
Government's detailed proposals for the reform of the planning system, in light
of the recommendations made by the
Barker
Review of Land Use Planning and the
Eddington
Transport Study.