MOJUK - News Articles/Judgments/Reports November 2024

One-Third of IPP Prisoners are in the Wrong Prisons

ICRIR: Troubles Legacy Body Opens Four New Cases

Israeli football Fans and the Violence in Amsterdam: What We Know

DM 386: Disclosure of Special Branch Files (Spying on Trade Unions)

Football Associations UK & Ireland Fined by UEFA After Fans Booed Anthems

Stolen Mops & Brooms Used to Collect Drugs From Drones at HMP Garth

Impact of “Prostitute's Cautions” and Convictions on Sex Workers’ Lives.

Hundreds of Police Officers Sacked for Bad Behaviour

Kevan Thakrar: Prison Ombudsman Rebrand Will Bring No Respite For Prisoners

Self-Harm in Prisons Reaches Shocking New High

1 in 3 Women In Prison Self-Harming According Latest Statistics From MoJ

Crown Court Backlog in England and Wales ‘Could Hit 100,000 Without Radical Overhaul’

Is ‘Effective Immunity’ to Police Officers Who Kill or Maim on the Cards

Is ‘Effective Immunity’ to Police Officers Who Kill or Maim on the Cards

Following firearms officer Martyn Blake’s acquittal of the murder of Chris Kaba, it did not take long for the Home Secretary to cave in to demands from the National Police Chiefs Council to rewrite the framework for the investigation and prosecution of police officers. Yvette Cooper’s proposed reforms follow the police script almost to the letter. A ‘presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial following a police shooting up to the point of conviction’ is proposed, along with a review of the charging threshold to make prosecution for on-duty actions harder. This after a year of outrage from firearms officers, who threatened to hand in their guns in protest at the CPS decision to prosecute Blake. The Police Federation also reacted angrily when the mental health charity Mind tweeted a message of support for people affected by Chris Kaba’s killing.

In a democracy, a firewall should exist between the legislators (who make the law), the courts (who interpret it) and the police (who enforce it). For at least fifty years, police chiefs have lobbied legislators to give them more powers. But now, we are entering new territory, as the NPCC and Met police chief Sir Mark Rowley seek to redefine the limits of police accountability by rewriting the law to grant, as INQUEST points out, ‘effective immunity’ to police officers who kill or maim. For the Justice for Chris Kaba campaign, this cannot be the legacy of yet another police shooting of a young Black man. Despite the Old Bailey verdict, and mindful that the inquest has yet to be heard, campaigners speak of their strengthened resolve, urging us all to unite around a vision of a ‘future where justice and accountability are the norm, and no one is above the law.’

Opinion Institute of Race Relations