KNIFE CRIME SENTENCING; THEORY & PRACTICE

We are expecting a general election next year. As a matter of curiosity I attempted to see a copy of the Conservative Party manifesto for the election of 2010.  A normal search indicated it was not available for public observation.  

Ever since I was appointed J.P. during the last Labour government  I naturally have taken an interest in crime and government statements on how  they are going to crack down on this crime or that offence.  Tony Blair in his first Labour manifesto famously declared, "tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime."  Having been in office for 13 years the Tories are making yet again another effort to convince us they are tackling knife crime.  A new consultation paper on knives has just reached its final submissions date. Since 2010/11, the total number of selected offences involving a knife or sharp instrument has increased by 34% (from around 34,000 to 45,000) and the number of threats to kill using knives or sharp objects has nearly quadrupled (from around 1,400 to 5,500).The recent police recorded crime figures published by the ONS showed a 21% increase in the number of knife and offensive weapon offences recorded from 37,706 in year ending September 2021 to 45,639 in year ending September 2022. We all know that "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" is a phrase describing the persuasive power of statistics to bolster weak arguments but nevertheless it is in the courts that the final link in the chain of promises, manifesto commitments, parliamentary processes and legislation becomes manifest.  I recollect that the case known as Povey became standard approach to sentencing knife crime in magistrates court.  I kept a copy in my personal folder which accompanied me every time I sat.  Indeed my colleagues often requested a copy.  Throughout my appointment there was never a training session on such criminality. All such "advice" was supposed to emanate from our legal advisors.  Such ignorance must be bliss to so many now sitting in judgement on their peers being led by their noses under the control of HMCTS. In practice sentencing on bladed articles and knives seems no more or less than the pot luck of the last century despite all the exhortations and Guidelines. On so many grounds this offender`s sentencing even with the limited report seems a throwback.   This Deputy District Judge perhaps was "under orders" not to increase the prison population although such instructions from on high are always denied.  At the other end of the scale here is a case where logic and compassion seem to have been sacrificed to "the computer says no" attitude possibly encouraged by a legal advisor covering his/her arse.  

I have long looked forward to the time when live TV of magistrates courts to a local population becomes as commonplace as parliamentary TV.  Indeed with the dearth of local news media reporting court activities it has become essential for justice to be seen to be done by a wider public ignorant of its processes until Jo Bloggs has to appear herself.  I can find no statistics on the numbers of litigants in person conducting their own defence at trial in magistrates courts. From my experience the vast majority of defendants pleading guilty are unrepresented except perhaps when expert representation is needed in more serious matters eg driving disqualification or possibility of a custodial sentence  This academic study might be worth a few minutes of JPs` reading time.  

From all accounts there is a public perception that knife crime is out of control and sentencing is inadequate. No doubt until the general election we will hear the same old platitudes familiar to us all [at least those of us with long enough memories] from the days of tram cars and trolley buses whether referring to the Glasgow razor gangs or the Sweeney Todds of the East End : we will reduce knife crime and punish offenders. 

A PUDDING TO REDUCE KNIFE CRIME

https://thejusticeofthepeaceblog.blogspot.com/search?q=KNIFE+CRIME

For ease of access I have begun today`s post with the link above. The first four of the posts offer a brief outline of the farce that is this government`s supposed "fight" against knife crime. Almost without fail successive Lord Chancellors have employed their vast public relations resources to shout loudly of the government`s intention to curb knife crime. In each and every case it has been a shout in the wilderness where there is nobody listening.  Year after year the numbers tell a different story.  Those prepared to carry a bladed article are not listening and neither are the judges who continue it seems to ignore the gory tragedies that are daily taking place on our streets.  Sentence for possession of a bladed article like all sentencing matters is governed by the Sentencing Council. The guideline like all the rest is akin to an explanation in plain English of an algorithm. Indeed my opinion is that within a decade an algorithm will actually be employed with human judicial override to fine check the conclusion in a similar manner to driverless cars and other forms of transport.  The CPS guidance on charging those whose cases are presented to them by police are no less  onerous. Indeed it is a wonder that anybody suspected of breaking the law on bladed articles is charged at all never mind imprisoned. 

And so to the lamentable current state of affairs. Of all those convicted of knife crime fewer than a third receive a custodial sentence.  The figures are that of 19,555 knife related convictions in the year to March 2022 5,815 were sentenced to immediate custody. A quarter of the total convictions were sentenced to custody suspended; a 100% increase in that sentence cf 2012. Minimum prison sentences for offenders who repeatedly carry knives came into effect as of 17 July 2015. The  ‘two-strikes’ sentence was supposed to mean that those adults convicted more than once of being in possession of a bladed article faced a minimum 6 month prison sentence with the maximum remaining at 4 years. Young offenders, that is to say those aged 16 and 17, were meant to face a minimum 4 month detention and training order.  Needless to add that has not happened. For the last two years a little over 40% of knife crime offenders were given non custodial sentences.  Contrary to common misconception deaths involving knives have hardly changed over a decade.  

In London there does appear to be a particular problem although release from pandemic restrictions might be a cause.  74.4% of all homicides were caused by knives or sharp implements in 2021, a 15.6% increase from 2020. 
It is a perennial problem which this and previous Tory governments have been unable to reduce. The current incumbent at Petty France currently is seeking to blame barristers for all his department`s woes and groans.  It takes teams of academics to analyse knife crime.  To understand the reasoning behind judicial decisions must be like the proverbial painting of the Forth Bridge.  However as is said; the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the public taste is one of disdain for the abilities of the judicial process to adequately deter and punish those who leave their homes and roam the streets with a knife on their person.

With antagonism being fostered against "stop and search", in some instances with justification, out of the box thinking is urgently needed to protect the mainly young people being killed by their peers. One can only hope that a future Secretary of State for Justice can find a hidden ingredient so that the judicial pudding will be baked and offered to the satisfaction of we, the public, who consume it.  

SHEEP AND THE POLITICIANS WHO CRY WOLF

Notwithstanding the tens of thousands of individuals who are even loosely termed "court workers" the only people remotely interested in what goes on in the magistrates courts are perhaps just a few thousand who work in the mainly print media and of those the majority don`t work for the Daily Mail or The Times or other mass media; they work for the hundreds of local media companies struggling to financially survive against a tsunami of sometimes unregulated competitors on and off line.  Local magistrates  court reporting remains one of the few activities where such businesses provide information services which are usually unobtainable elsewhere.  Having myself, from time to time whilst active as a presiding magistrate, been the subject [albeit with the offender] of such reports I have nothing but admiration for those undertaking this work.  There is still a majority of the British public without their name on the police national computer.  Unless involved academically these law abiding citizens have absolutely no conception of how the law works in the 97% of criminal cases which begin and are concluded in the magistrates courts until, of course, they are themselves accused of offending. The pressure and lobbying organisation Transform Justice has, for that very reason, initiated a court watchers group to inform on such proceedings.  My opinion in that regard is that the project has merit but care should be taken by these folk that reporting on the court is one thing; offering opinion is another and I have noted that sometimes the twain are confused.  Arguably no topic within the legal system is perhaps as significant as sentencing although it`s fair to add that the whole system rather like the concrete used to construct some of the court buildings  has been crumbling from the top for over a decade: 2010 to be precise.  

From time to time I have offered cases where the invisible directive from the MOJ for sentencers to keep out of jail many who should be behind bars borders on political arrogance taking we the public for idiots.  Politicians preach hard guidance and courts apply hand wringing misplaced benevolence.  Below are just a pitiful few recent examples where the sentence does anything but fit the crime.

The dreadful cases of murder and rapes by serving Metropolitan Police officers and others provided a well earned shock to authorities who have shouted loudly that such cases, the tip of a known iceberg, will in future be treated with the severity they deserve.  One such observation was that indecent exposure, an offence which most magistrates have had to listen to, would no longer be treated as a relatively minor offence.  It would be treated as an indication that the offender was on an unstable ladder likely for him to lead to falling further into depravity.  Academic studies have justified this reasoning.  A sex offender denied his guilt until the day of his trial when he admitted indecent exposure to a 14 year old girl. Not only was that cowardly delay likely to have caused even more distress to the child his late guilty plea was of no avail insofar as he was sentenced to virtually the maximum available to the bench; 23 weeks but against all logic it was suspended.  Obviously only those in the courtroom heard all the evidence and mitigation but common sense comments are valid. Those in the local area interested in the topic must be at best confused and at worst  dismayed. The report is available here. 

In Derby a 22 year old drunk driver was guilty of her third such conviction in three years. The Sentencing Guideline for this offence is here.  Not only was she well over the limit she tried to deceive police by pretending she was a passenger in the vehicle; an aggravating circumstance if ever there was one.  She was sentenced to 18 weeks custody which was suspended for two years. In addition she was disqualified from driving for four years and  ordered to pay £199 in financial penalties.   A 100 day alcohol monitoring tag was ordered to be attached and she was required to  attend 25 rehabilitation sessions.  How seriously all that will be monitored by an emasculated probation service we will never know.  But how can we have confidence in our legal system when such a dreadful disregard for the law is treated almost as a misdemeanour.  

Another case at  Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court gives me cause for disquiet.  It seems to me natural justice that when a violent offence is committed against an obviously pregnant woman the law should punish the offender and mitigation if any should be treated with the utmost caution.  When the court was told the same offender, the partner of the victim, was convicted for ABH against her  in November 2022 immediate custody should surely have been the correct sentence.  But no!  The District Judge, to his shame suspended the sentence.  Any right minded person must weep at this blatant observing of those aforementioned invisible guidelines from those who have underfunded prisons and their workforce since 2010.  Such indifference to the public will lead to vigilantism and a further disregard for politicians and their public offerings of nirvana.  The on line report can be read here. 

Knife offending in this country is endemic.  Hardly a day goes by from Cornwall to Cumbria without such an offence taking place.  And still, this government like so many others, is by passing immediate custody  and offering ever improved sentences for offenders as if they were offering new improved washing powder.  

I have taken the opportunity to publish below Proposals 4 & 5 of  "Consultation outcome Government response to consultation and summary of public responses (accessible)
Updated 2 October 2023."

The complete document on knives and bladed articles is available here. 

Proposal 4 - The Criminal Justice System should treat possession in public of prohibited knives and offensive weapons more seriously.

Question 10: Should the Criminal Justice System treat those who carry prohibited knives and offensive weapons in public more seriously?

81. We asked respondents for their views on whether the possession of a prohibited knife in a public place should be treated more seriously. We asked respondents to tick one of the following responses and explain the reasoning for their answer. The provided responses were:

Yes

No

82. There was a total of 2,333 responses to this question.

83. The majority of responses (65%) agreed with this proposal with comments from some respondents talking about the devastating impact knife crime has on lives and communities and that this change will better reflect the severity of the crime.

84. Some respondents, including practitioners working with young people, suggested that this proposal may impact negatively on young people who may carry knives in public for self-defence purposes or because they are coerced into carrying the article.

Government response

85. We note concerns raised in relation to this proposal having the potential to impact on vulnerable people who may be coerced into carrying knives. Similar concerns were raised in relation to proposal 3. The courts will always consider each case individually and will take into account mitigating factors, such as age, lack of maturity and vulnerability.

86. The government is clear that it is unlawful to carry knives for self-defence purposes. The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 makes it an offence to carry offensive weapons in a public place, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. Carrying a knife is likely to entice knife crime in local communities rather than discourage it and will put young people at risk as a result.

87. The government will ask the Sentencing Council to consider amending sentencing guidelines on possession of bladed articles/offensive weapons to treat possession of a prohibited weapon in public more seriously.

Proposal 5 - A new possession offence of bladed articles with the intention to endanger life or to cause fear of violence.

Question 11: Do you agree with the proposal?

88. We asked respondents whether they thought the government should introduce a new offence of possession of bladed articles with the intention to endanger life or to cause fear of violence. We asked respondents to tick one of the following responses and explain the reasoning for their answer. The provided responses were:

Yes

No

89. There was a total of 2,361 responses to this question.

90. The majority of respondents to this question (64%) agreed with this proposal. Respondents in favour of this proposal argued that current legislation does not recognise the severity of carrying a knife with the intention to cause fear and the increased likelihood of escalation resulting in harm or threat to life. Respondents stressed the need to act before the actual act of threatening another person occurs.

91. Some respondents agreed with the proposal, but they shared their views that they thought it would be difficult to prove that there is an intention for an individual carrying a bladed article to endanger life or cause fear of violence.

92. There were also respondents who were of the view that this is already covered under current legislation; the majority of respondents who provided these comments had selected ‘no’ as their answer to this question.

93. Some respondents, including practitioners working with young people, suggested that this proposal may impact negatively on young people who may carry knives in public for self-defence purposes or because they are coerced into carrying the article.

Government response

94. The government will seek to introduce a separate possession offence of bladed articles with the intention to injure or cause fear of violence with a maximum penalty higher than the current offence of possession of an offensive weapon when parliamentary time allows.

95. We believe that there is a gap in knife legislation between simple knife possession and possession and threatening another person. This proposal mirrors existing firearms legislation that has been effectively implemented by prosecutors. We expect that this proposal will support the police in tackling violence before the actual harm has been done and where there is evidence, for example on social media, of taunting or threatening behaviour.

96. We note concerns raised in relation to this proposal having the potential to impact on vulnerable people who may be coerced into carrying knives. The courts will always consider each case individually and will take into account mitigating factors, such as age, lack of maturity and vulnerability.

97. The government is clear that it is unlawful to carry knives for self-defence purposes. The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 makes it an offence to carry offensive weapons in a public place, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. Carrying a knife is likely to entice knife crime in local communities rather than discourage it and will put young people at risk as a result.

Governments of all shades, Secretaries of State for Justice and Home Office Ministers have spouted on for decades about what they`ll do about knife crime.  It`s fair to say that very few of the public now take anything they say on the subject except with a large pinch of salt.  The old adage of the boy who cried wolf has survived for centuries owing to the underlying truth, reasoning and logic conveyed by those few words.  What is not immediately flagged up is the effect on a society when a government duly elected operates under that very proverb crying wolf so often that electors finally disregard its words and as a result seek the apparent simplicity of the demagogues who offer manna from a utopian heaven the price of which, unsaid, is the loss of democratic rights.  I am fearful that we are slowly entering that period when the value of almost any political policy promised by government or those who seek government is discounted, disregarded and held as an example of the need by some voters for "strong government".  The lesson is there before us. The point is whether the sheep are listening to the politicians who cry wolf.  

KNIFE CRIME; THE SAME OLD SAD STORY

Today with much trumpeting the Sentencing Council published new guidelines on knife crime. Considering the Tory Party conference has just finished I wonder if this is a coincidence.  Ever since my particular interest in criminal law began about twenty years ago each and every government has declared its intention of increased sanctions against those using or brandishing a knife or bladed article; eg on 21/09/2008 Jack Straw then Minister for Justice in his speech at the Labour Party Conference said; " Yesterday we saw the determination of those affected by knife crime as they marched through London. We stand firm with all those who know too well the devastating impact these crimes have and as Jacqui will be spelling out  later, all of us pledge that we will relentlessly keep up our efforts to tackle it."  Every minister responsible for policy on criminal activity since then has repeated a similar mantra.  A limited microcosm of attitudes to knife crime was my topic 3rd July 2015. To return to the reality of daily life in our courts the sentencing structure at Bolton Youth Court earlier this week might raise an eyebrow or two in the light of the above.  The report is as full as one can hope for in the local press but the underlying principle is clearly understood: that the mitigation of the offender`s  dreadful previous experiences and possible rehabilitation was considered to be more important than public protection that would have been offered by his immediate confinement.  Truly the bench will have it on its collective conscience should he cause injury or worse to anyone in future.

COPY OF TODAY`S GOVT. E MAIL RE KNIFE & BLADED WEAPON POSSESSION

FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT RECEIVE GOVERNMENT E  MAILS BELOW IS THE BEST AVAILABLE COPY OF THAT PUBLISHED TODAY ON SENTENCING FOR  KNIFE AND BLADED WEAPON POSSESSION. UNFORTUNATELY CERTAIN FEATURES DO NOT COPY eg TABLES AND THE FORMAT IS NOT AS THE ORIGINAL

For any feedback related to the content of this publication, please let us know at statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk
Published 12 March 2020
Knife and Offensive Weapon Sentencing Statistics, England and Wales – 2019
Main points
The number of knife and offensive weapon offences dealt with by the Criminal Justice System (CJS) has been increasing since 2014.
In 2019 nearly 22,300 knife and offensive weapon offences were formally dealt with by the CJS, an increase of 3% since 2018. The increase has been driven by possession of an article with a blade or point offences.
The proportion of offenders receiving an immediate custodial sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offence has remained stable for the last three years at around 38%.
Between 2009 and 2016 there was an increase in the proportion of offenders receiving an immediate custodial sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offence, from 23% in 2009 to 35% in 2016, but the trend has been stable over the last three years.
The average length of the custodial sentences received increased from 6.3 months in 2009 to 8.2 months in 2019.
For just under three quarters (71%) of offenders this was their first knife or offensive weapon possession offence
The proportion of offenders for whom this is their first knife or offensive weapon possession offence has been decreasing and is now at its lowest level since 2009 (80%).
The average custodial sentence received by offenders sentenced under section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 was 8.0 months in 2019
This has risen since 2016, the first full year after the legislation was established, where it was 7.1 months.
This publication presents key statistics describing the trends in the number of offenders receiving cautions and convictions for possession of a knife or offensive weapon offence in England and Wales. This also includes offences involving threatening with one of these types of weapons. It should be noted that figures for the latest year have been estimated and should be treated as provisional, please refer to the technical guide for further details.
2
1. Knife and offensive weapon offences overview
The number of knife and offensive weapon offences dealt with by the Criminal
Justice System (CJS) has been increasing since 2014.
In 2019, 22,285 knife and offensive weapon offences were formally dealt with by the
CJS, an increase of 3% since 2018.
Recent police recorded crime figures published by the ONS1 also showed an increase
in the number of knife and offensive weapon offences recorded. In the year ending
March 2013, 15,699 offences were recorded compared with 36,588 in the year ending
September 2019. Furthermore, information published by the Home Office on “Crime
outcomes in England and Wales” show that 51% of these offences resulted in a
charge or police caution in the year ending March 2019.2
Figure 1: Knife and offensive weapon offences by offence type, England and Wales,
annually from 2009 (Source: Table 1a)
0
5
10
15
20
25
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Number of offences (000s)
Year
Possession of an article with a blade or point Possession of an offensive weapon
Threatening with a knife or offensive weapon
Figure 1 shows that this increase is driven by possession of an article with a blade or point
offences. These offences have now increased to over 14,200 offences.
The number of adult offenders convicted or cautioned for a knife or offensive weapon
offence has increased by 3% in the last year while the number of juveniles convicted or
cautioned has increased by 2%.
1https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/year
endingjune2019, table A4
2 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-outcomes-in-england-and-wales-2018-to-2019
3
2. Sentencing
The proportion of offenders receiving an immediate custodial sentence for a
knife and offensive weapon offence has remained stable for the last three years
at around 38%
Between 2009 and 2016 there was an increase in the proportion of offenders
receiving an immediate custodial sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offence,
from 23% in 2009 to 35% in 2016, but the trend has been stable over the last three
years.
The average length of the custodial sentences received increased from 6.3 months in
2009 to 8.2 months in 2019.
Figure 2: Knife and offensive weapon offences by disposal type, England and Wales,
annually from 2009 (Source: Table 1)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Percentage of offences
Year
Caution Absolute / Conditional discharge Fine
Community sentence Suspended sentence Immediate custody
Other disposal
The proportion of offenders receiving immediate custodial sentences has remained stable at
around 38% for the last three years, but has increased since 2009 when 23% received
immediate custodial sentences. In 2019 over 8,000 knife and offensive weapon offences
dealt with resulted in immediate custody compared with nearly 6,000 in 2009. This increase
has been driven by adults, for whom there was a 49% increase in offenders receiving
immediate custody in the period.
The increase in average custodial sentence length between 2009 and 2019 was seen in all
age groups and offence types but particularly for adults, for whom it increased from 6.2
months to 8.2 months, and for possession of blade or point offences, where it increased
from 5.4 months to 7.5 months.
4
3. Offending History
For 71% of offenders this was their first knife or offensive weapon possession
offence
The proportion of offenders for whom this is their first knife or offensive weapon
possession offence has been decreasing and is now at its lowest level since 2009
(80%).
The decrease in the proportion of first time knife and offensive weapon offenders has been
seen for both adults and juveniles, with the proportion for adults decreasing from 77% to
68% between 2009 and 2019 and the proportion for juveniles decreasing from 91% to 83%
over the same period.
Figure 3: Number of previous cautions or convictions for the possession of a knife or
offensive weapon offence for offenders cautioned or convicted for a knife or
offensive weapon offence, England and Wales, annually from 2009 (Source:
Interactive Pivot Table Tool)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Number of occasions (000s)
Year
0 Previous convictions/cautions 1 Previous conviction/caution
2 Previous convictions/cautions 3 or more previous convictions/cautions
Figure 3 shows that whilst the proportion of first time offenders for this offence type has
fallen the number of offenders dealt with for their first knife and offensive weapons offence
has remained stable over the last three years.
Since 2014 both the number and proportion of offenders dealt with who had one or more
previous knife and offensive weapons possession offences increased year on year, rising
from 25% or 3,755 occasions to 29% or 5,795 occasions.
5
4. Sentencing under section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts
Act (CJCA) 20153
The average custodial sentence received by offenders sentenced under section 28
of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 was 8.0 months in 2019.
This has risen from 2016, the first full year after the legislation was established, where it
was 7.1 months. Over the same time period the average custodial sentence length has
increased from 7.2 to 8.1 months for adults and 5.8 to 7.6 months for 16 and 17 year
olds.
Figure 4: Knife and offensive weapons possession sentencing and cautioning
occasions for adult repeat offenders, by disposal type, 2014 and annually from 2016
(Source: Interactive Pivot Table Tool and Table 7)4
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2014 2016 2017 2018 2019
Percentage of occasions
Year
Caution Absolute / Conditional Discharge/Fine/Other Community Sentence Suspended Sentence Immediate Custody
Section 28 of the
Criminal Justice and
Courts Act was
introduced in July 2015
Following the commencement of section 28 of the CJCA 2015, a court must impose a
minimum custodial sentence5 on an offender who has been convicted of a second or
subsequent offence involving possession of a knife or offensive weapon. The court must
impose the minimum sentence unless it would not be in the interest of justice to do so.
3 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/2/part/1/crossheading/repeat-offences-involving-offensive-weaponsetc
4 Figures for 2014 have been taken from the Interactive Pivot Table tool while the figures for other years have
been taken from Table 7.
5 At least 6 months for adults and at least 4 months for juveniles aged 16 or 17.
6
In 2014, prior to the introduction of this legislation, half (50%) of adult knife and offensive weapons possession offenders with at least one previous knife and offensive weapons possession offence received an immediate custodial sentence. In 2019 two thirds (66%) of adult offenders sentenced under section 28 of the CJCA 2015 received an immediate custodial sentence. Overall 86% of adult offenders sentenced under section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 in 2019 received some form of custodial sentence, either immediate custody or a suspended sentence, compared to 69% of adult offenders with at least one previous knife and offensive weapons offence in 2014.
For 16 and 17 year olds, in 2019 44% of offenders sentenced under section 28 of the CJCA 2015 received an immediate custodial sentence compared to 28% of knife and offensive weapons possession offenders with at least one previous knife and offensive weapons possession offence in 2014.

A JUSTICE SYSTEM EMASCULATED

Every Justice Secretary since I was appointed [and probably prior to that] has issued words of thunder through the weasels in the MOJ press office that something is going to be done about knife crime. Indeed I have posted here more than once on this.  It would not be inaccurate to suggest that such pronouncements are filed in the in box for every new occupant of the top seat at Petty France.I await David Gauke`s efforts. Meantime the latest Guideline has come into force.

It is common knowledge that knife crime this year in London has reached record levels. It is therefore not irrational to conclude that current practices are not having the required effect in protecting the public and victims who are often young black men as are many of the offenders. Any sensible law makers would seek reasons for the situation and offer sensible evidence based solutions. But any observers offering such a common sense approach risk being accused of political correctness if race based initiatives are amongst the mix of those possible solutions. 

This blogger along with most involved in our justice system despairs about what has happened to and within that justice system since 2010.  Police who have been deprived the resources to do what the founder of modern policing stated to be the aim of his "bobbies" although later ascribed  to Richard Mayne at the Metropolitan Police Training School at Hendon and the source of reference to all constables in the Instruction Book. The first passage in that book which they had to learn and recite word-perfect was the “Primary Objects”.This was written in 1829 by said Richard Mayne one of the first two Justices of the Peace (later in 1839 referred to as Commissioners) appointed in charge of the Metropolitan Police Force and published in Police Orders. The Primary Objects: are as follows:

“The primary object of an efficient police is the prevention of crime: the next that of detection and punishment of offenders if crime is committed. To these ends all the efforts of police must be directed. The protection of life and property, the preservation of public tranquillity, and the absence of crime, will alone prove whether those efforts have been successful and whether the objects for which the police were appointed have been attained.”   

 And the end point of criminality is prison where today Birmingham jail has been taken over by the state after the private sector has been shown to be possibly criminally incompetent in its management. Between police and prison, courts and probation service have been similarly emasculated.  I am left feeling that this is akin to the 1997 scenario of a tired and useless John Major government about to be driven out of office and rightly so except that in the wings is a group of antisemitic Marxists licking their lips at the ruin they will bring to the nation to realise their lifelong dreams.  This scenario leads to ever increasing cries for "something to be done" and that inescapably leads to the populists in our midst offering simple get out of jail free cards. And to complete the metaphor, monopoly in all its dire forms results. Another term for that in this context is authoritarianism. 

KNIFE POSSESSION STATISTICS

For umpteen years governments of all shades have made it a priority to come down hard on knife crime.  As sure as night follows day the current occupants of Petty France have published thousands of statistics on knife crime,  the perpetrators and the consequent disposals.  Crime involving the actual use of a knife or bladed instrument is not covered by  figures published today: they refer only to possession.  I offer no opinions but for number crunchers the tables are available here.

POLITICAL TRUST! UNKNOWN BUT NOT UNKNOWABLE PROBLEMS AHEAD

 

A cohesive society exists on trust. Individuals who travel from strangers to friendship or closer can only experience worthwhile relationships when there is mutual trust.  Although there are millions of pages of company and commercial law many, especially small businesses, base their relationships and often their commercial success on trust. It might have been the case that in politics also trust was a given particularly at the higher levels of party politics. We are seeing every day on our television screens and in various media that now trust has completely broken down with the lies of Donald Trump being listed almost daily by fact checkers on CNN. Sad to tell that innocuous virus which doesn`t originate in China but whose origin derives from the hearts of men (men includes women in this analogy) is increasing its infiltration into our daily lives. In this country it has been constrained by ancient rules, procedures and attitudes which I fear are no longer strong enough to withhold the pressures being exerted upon them.  The Ministry of Justice has long been at the forefront of presenting its 😁 smiley face by the hundreds of people employed in a press and PR capacity. Typing "MOJ press office" in the search box on the right hand side of the narrative will reveal a few previous ventures into this topic. However one fact I cannot present is the number actually employed to bring that smiley face to the great British public even when the information barely concealed is dire. Knife crime and so called deterrent sentencing are two of the most high profile subjects of which Justice Secretaries like to take possession, i.e.headlines. Cases outstanding at magistrates courts owing to Convid-19 are estimated at 450K-500K.  Under the horizon this dreadful backlog caused in great part by a decade of mismanagement is being reduced at record speeds by using the single justice procedure where so mush goes through on the nod and totally unreported. Similar circumstances at crown courts are less in quantity but a magnitude greater in quality with life changing events for many if not most participants who are not officers of the court. Knife crime is so much part of daily life for many that I have posted on it many times. As previously by placing those terms in the search box a potted history will become available for those who are interested. Justice secretaries per se do not come out of this well irrespective of the weasel words of cracking down or ramping up which seem to be in vogue.   Today MOJ announces that custodial sentences for emergency workers will be increased to two years custody. In 2018 such sentences were doubled from six months to 12 months at the magistrates court. Like a gambler doubling his bet in attempting to win back his losses the maximum is again doubled. These cases will be heard at crown court. But they will not reduce the crime to which they are attached. There are and were conditions to increase sentences already available to CPS and judges. They were not often applied. At this level of criminality it is the fear of being caught and charged which prevails upon those inclined to take their violent path. That fear has simply dissipated owing to the emasculation of police and policing. The use of so called Nightingale Courts so loudly trumpeted just a few months ago has now been called into question with the impending closure of one such that was opened only a month ago.  Other government departments are open to similar criticism by those who know, over their own loose tongues and press releases where once again every little lie is eroding the trust upon which we allow ourselves to be governed.  Yesterday the current holder of that ancient title Lord Chancellor stated re the controversy over the Agreement reached which enabled Boris Johnson to have number 10 as his home, " Buckland: I'll quit if rule of law broken in 'unacceptable way'. With a Home Secretary in denial but five former prime ministers expressing a restrained sense of incredulity that their successor might be the author of the problem we can finally say that political trust between people and ruler has been eroded beyond a point of redemption and that spells unknown but not unknowable problems ahead for all of us. 

POLICING AND JUSTICE UK STYLE 2021

Salami slicing is a well trodden phrase used originally to describe the subtle reduction by the very thin slicing  of a piece of  sausage or a large piece of meat.  Of course now that phrase can be applied to many areas of our lives but in the context of government policies it means the subtle reductions in financial support to a public policy.  Nowhere is this more obvious than it  is to our justice system in its widest context. From Kenneth Clarke at the Ministry of Justice in 2010 when he proudly announced that he was the first cabinet minister to announce his department`s budget reduction of 23% until the present time when a compulsive lying prime minister has proudly announced the recruitment of 20,000 police officers which was exactly the number his predecessors over the last decade had sacked, our system of justice has been reduced from a beacon to the wider world to a system not fit for purpose.  Nowhere is this hiring and firing been more apparent than in the policy or non policy of stop and search which has become a totem of those who accuse the Metropolitan Police of racism.  There is no doubt that the Met itself has been under fire for its apparent failure to weed out and actually punish officers for gross misconduct often during stop and search actions. Indeed only six officers have been disciplined since 2014 out of over 5,000 complaints.  But that does nothing to disguise the fact that young black males are the main victims of black perpetrators.  A government with confidence in its own policies would provide not just funds to operate an efficient policing system but would also argue that the facts on knife crime require more than rhetoric which is a recurring feature of every Justice Secretary in living memory. A Freedom of Information answer from Scotland Yard might be of interest. 

There is no doubt that notwithstanding superficial improvements there is systemic failure within the police to investigate and punish their own officers.  That corruption is endemic from top to bottom  has been made front page news today 15th June on the murder of Daniel Morgan.  There is no doubt that the Met needs systemic investigation and also that the Augean Stables of the Home Office including its current boss need a thorough clean out.  Huffing and puffing by the current Home Secretary has to be met by truth, truth more truth and nothing but the truth. At a lower level amongst the hundreds of cases involving serving police officers is that of ex PC Oliver Banfield.  His unlawful actions have been repeated countless times with little punishment for those culpable. 

Sometimes I wonder at the lack of common sense amongst senior police officers.  Such an example is Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox the national leader for fatal collision investigations.  He has equated speeding with knife crime. He has said that reckless middle class motorists should not be treated more leniently than youths with weapons. Notwithstanding the fact that badly or recklessly driven vehicles can kill I doubt many drivers start their cars with that possibility at the back of their minds.  For those whose driving is found to be careless or dangerous and/or compounded by alcohol, sanctions have increased in the last decade to punish those responsible. Knife carrying is a statement of intent.  It is both amazing and depressing that such a senior officer can make such a crass remark but what is of more concern is if he can harbour such a public opinion and influence policy what is going on behind the scenes that we might have imposed upon us at some future date.

It is no surprise to all court workers that there is an enormous backlog of cases in our courts.  Obviously the pandemic has exacerbated what was a disgraceful situation where the acronym CJSSS;    Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary was introduced in 2007.  In many ways this so called simplification was just a new way of applying rules that were already in place.  The introduction of the controversial Single Justice Procedure in 2015 was also another way to overcome what were considered obstacles to early guilty pleas. There is no doubt that the closing over the last decade of half the country`s magistrates courts has been a major contribution to the current backlog combined with the failure to improve recruitment of new magistrates resulting in an unprecedented advertising blitz to overcome the deficit the result of which has in all probability reduced the intellectual fitness required for decision making.  Currently there are 56,000 cases outstanding in crown court with some timetabled for 2023. 

Amidst all forms of judicial statistics, thinking and programmes there is a complete absence of joined up thinking. Policy therefore seems to belong to those who shout loudest in the required direction of those with the biggest ears.  That is how justice is administered in 21st century England. There is, however, one ray of hope for this writer who has been advocating for a decade that drug users should be put on a medical pathway and not a criminal pathway to rehabilitation and reform.  MP Dr Dan Poulter has lobbied for change. Perhaps he might be pointed to this blog and write workhouse in the search box for my suggestions. 

HARM INDEX IS HARMFUL

This blog along with many more authoritative sources has long been sceptical of so called crime statistics.  The use of tick box mentality of recording has long been questioned.  To the despair of many that methodology is so widespread it is endemic among both government and non governmental organisations; the Sentencing Guidelines produced for magistrates and judges  are a perfect example. This "bible" of sentencing attempts to categorise sentences by a combination of harm to the supposed victim and culpability of offender.  And now a "crime harm index" is to be deployed by police to classify the significance of different offences taking into account the number of offenders jailed for the crime including violence, knife and gun crime and the average sentences imposed.  Considering that about 95% of all crime that comes to a court begins and ends in magistrates` courts  with six months custody maximum it is likely that effects of inevitable prioritisation by police will be based on crown court statistics of the remaining 5%. An additional (overlooked?) factor seems to be the designation and weight to be given to suspended sentences where the decision to suspend custody is based primarily on an assessment of the offender as opposed to the effects of the crime itself.  An additional flaw IMHO is that people, I dislike the term so commonly used and abused, victims,   invariably do not have similar or common reactions to the crime inflicted upon them. There are those who can put the experience, however traumatic, behind them and those who wallow in their own misfortune over the most minor transgression to their property, person or psyche. 

It is almost certain that police will use this new indexation to target their diminishing resources and will inevitably issue so called statistical evidence to justify their so called efficiency.  Such activity distorts that which is itself being measured whether it`s GCSE and A Level results or an indication of a hospital`s ability to deal with its workload.  This blogger will need some convincing that this harm index is less than harmful to public accountability of police. 

NEW JUSTICE SECRETARIES AND KNIFE CRIME

Latest knife crime information available here.

Sooner or later every Justice Secretary promises that those possessing knives or similar in a public place will face the full wrath of the law. It seems that however much the incumbent huffs and puffs those who undertake the sentencing of such offenders take a different view.  Let`s wait and see but IMHO time will really tell.

IS THE END NIGH FOR BRITISH JUSTICE?

Many will be no longer fascinated by the recent attempts by China, Japan, India, USA to land unmanned space vehicles on the moon. Perhaps those who were agog at watching live on TV the first time that human beings walked on the moon in July 1969 are now just passive observers to the many sociological and political changes that afflict the planet  and have changed the face of this country as much as any war might have done in decades past.  

With a general election expected before Christmas pollsters will be bombarding the media with the results and opinions of their paymasters on what is likely to influence the electorate in our individual voting decisions.  No doubt previous successes from before the age of Tik Tok  will be rehatched to reach a generation that was in short trousers when Labour ended its 13 year reign in the House of Commons.  “It's the economy stupid” was a phrase coined by James Carville in 1992 when he was advising Bill Clinton in his successful run for the White House.  Like the rotten boroughs of times past, by all accounts an extra £1,000 per annum in the pocket of Mr, Mrs or Ms average earner`s bank account will be enough to buy a vote.  The esoteric notions of foreign policy or mass hysteria over a foreign war are unlikely to be considered worthy of mention in any through the letterbox leaflets.  Unfortunately the deliberate break up of our once admired justice system will be similarly classified; not worthy of debate but arguably in its many forms just as likely to affect our lives as a penny on or off any taxable item.  

We all depend on the police.  Their popularity with the public seems to rise and fall like a child on a trampoline.  On one hand events of the years since the brutal murder of Sarah Everard have exposed that there aren`t just some misbegotten rotten apples but rotten barrels full of misbegotten rotten apples.  But on that other hand it is the police who stand between peace on the streets and anarchy.  When PC Paul Fisher was acquitted of dangerous driving in November last year four years after  he crashed on his way to the scene where Sudesh Amman had stabbed two people  there were some murmurings that he had "got off".  That he was on trial at all for attempting to save innocent lives seemed incongruous to many within and without the policing and legal professions.  His case seems to sum up the push me pull me of Dr Doolittle fame in our attitudes to policing.  

Whilst I was active the persistent shoplifters had a pseudo legal adornment to their propensity to steal; "prolific", the essence of which was that even when an individual case was of low value an offender with a history of dozens or perhaps hundreds of previous convictions was to be treated for the entirety of his convictions thus ensuring that the maximum sentence of six months immediate custody was available as a true reflection of his/her law breaking.  That was the theory but the practice was very different last year.  Recorded offences rose 25% but charges fell.  In the year ending 30/6/23 police recorded 365,164 shoplifting offences but only around 12% of suspects were charged.  In the year before Covid almost 19% of suspects were charged. This decline is just a symptom of failures for more serious matters.  If the government proceeds with its stated intention to remove custodial sentences from the arsenal of disposals at magistrates courts one can expect an exponential rise in theft from shops and an increasing number of stores having security guards  inside and outside their premises as in most large retail premises in America. 

 Knife possession and knife crime have both increased and despite the wooly words of Justice Secretaries since 2010 the proportion of knife offences resulting in a suspended sentence has increased by almost 100% to the end of September 2023 resulting in almost a quarter of such offenders avoiding prison.  Further statistics show that even for repeat knife offenders in the same period 40% were not sentenced to immediate custody despite legislation that instructed judges to do just that.  

Between 2017 and 2021 more than 35,000 of the 142,275 motorists who totted up 12 points avoided being banned due to claiming 'exceptional hardship'. From my own personal knowledge and experience [posted here many times and available using the search box]  magistrates are too quick to offer relief to drivers with 12 or more penalty points.  A Google search shows that hundreds of solicitors are advertising their expertise in arguing successfully for "exceptional hardship".  Their lucrative income stream and magistrates misplaced sympathies must surely come under scrutiny by a future Justice Secretary and be formalised.  

And so to our judges who can be castigated for speaking out of turn but can be incompetent in their sentencing without retribution unless the case is particularly a high profile one attracting photogenic witnesses, available finance or public relations experts and sometimes all three.  In the last 20 years prolific offenders represented nearly half of all convictions; 243,000 people aged over 21 with at least 16 convictions or cautions. In 2022 hyper prolific offenders with 45 or more convictions or cautions offended almost 10,000 times and were subject to non custodial sentences 53% of occasions.  

Hundreds of judicial decisions in sentencing miscreants, which have been made according to the Sentencing Guidelines, have been tossed aside.  Known only to individual judges offenders who should be in jail are walking the streets because the MOJ has instructed the judiciary to use non custodial outcomes because the prison population is at breaking point.  Recent police and judicial decisions regarding the treatment of those who openly spout religious hate in their marches for so called Palestinian freedom from "the river to the sea" are bringing this government to a point of no return in the interface between anarchy and democracy.  Simple but deep philosophical questions on the freedom of judges` sentencing options, jurors` rights to bring in "perverse" verdicts, police interpretations of the law in conflict with parliament`s interpretation of said law, prison governors` and parole boards` decisions in overriding original sentencing decisions and many other policies and decisions below the public horizon are about to be tested. MOJ spending figures show a planned 4.8% cut in operational spending on justice to £10bn in 2024/25 from £10.5bn in 2023/24.  Russian oligarchs, their estranged wives, Arab property developers, disgruntled media stars and others similar might consider London the best place to spend their favoured currency on their favourite high priced KCs but for Josephine Bloggs alighting from the Clapham all electric omnibus needing help on a dark winter night as she walks home the legal future is bleak.  Is the end nigh for British justice? Can somebody help?