Posts Tagged Crown Prosecution Service
Could a grand jury hang News International high?
Posted by Nick Cowen in Civil Liberty, Crime on 21/07/2011
In the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal, some commentators, including Neil Kinnock, have suggested that now is the time for regulation of the press on a par with TV broadcasters. Besides the dangerous implications for free speech such proposals have, they are fighting what is already the last battle. The mainstream press is at its weakest point economically for generations and is increasingly held to account by other actors, especially independent bloggers. Reform should be focussed on more fundamental problems that have implications for any powerful set of actors that decide they can get away with breaking the law to achieve their own ends. These are our overly centralised institutions of investigation and prosecution that have proved too easy for establishment figures to bypass. In short, we need to bring back grand juries.
Letter of the Law
Posted by Carolina Bracken in Crime, Politics on 13/05/2011
Thousands of criminal suspects will be charged by post under a new Home Office scheme to cut police red tape. The announcement comes as part of a catalogue of initiatives designed to save 2.5 million hours of police time each year. However, whilst the need for bureaucratic reform is long overdue, plans to increase police responsibility may well prove impossible given the swingeing financial cutbacks faced by the force.
