With the ever-growing popularity of social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram it is important to take a step back and consider your use of them. You need to make sure that you and your children not only control the personal information that is put onto social media but also your behaviour on...
So called ‘Rogue landlords’ are frequently in the news for allegedly charging tenants too much money, refusing to release a deposit or evicting tenants unlawfully. What is meant by ‘unlawful eviction’? The statutory starting point is the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Section 1(2) states when someone is guilty of this offence: “If any...
Although some breaches of environmental law amount to criminal offences, not all do. There are a wide range of potential penalties that are quite different to those usually faced for standard criminal offences. Even where a criminal offence has been committed, court action and all that it entails can very often be avoided. It is...
New offences of stalking (in addition to existing offences of harassment) were introduced in 2012. The offences are harassment which involves a course of conduct that amounts to stalking. There are two offences, stalking involving fear of violence and stalking involving serious alarm or distress. What is stalking? There is no strict definition, but...
There is a defence in law known as necessity or duress of circumstances. It can be very difficult to demonstrate and will only apply in unusual and extreme circumstances. It is used to describe a situation where someone is forced by the demands of the situation to act unlawfully, and where a worse situation was...
It is common for officers at airports and other ports of entry to intercept people carrying controlled drugs in their luggage, clothing or inside their bodies on behalf of suppliers in foreign jurisdictions. The colloquial term for such people is ‘mule’. They may have been pressured into carrying the drugs or have done so for...
It may be an offence to fail to provide information as the identity of a driver when you receive a written request to do so from (or on behalf of) the police. If convicted, you face a hefty fine and 6 penalty points. How long do they have to make the request? A request...
The Sentencing Council, which is the body responsible for setting sentencing guidelines in England and Wales, has today published proposed new guidelines in respect to public order offences. What offences are covered? The guidelines will apply to the following offences, all of which are to be found in the Public Order Act 1986: Riot...
If you are over 17 years of age, the easiest answer is that it could. These days, press reporting via social media can happen very quickly and it is often one of the things not thought about by those facing criminal proceedings. Youth Court Anyone aged 17 or under will generally first appear...
Following the Parole Board decision to release John Worboys, the taxi driver rapist, there has been a review of its functions, in particular a review of Rule 25 of the Parole Board Rules 2016 that prevented the Parole Board disclosing any information relating to its hearings. That rule was found to be unlawful in...
