Police Constables

Police Constables

Given we are criminal defence lawyers we interact with police on a regular basis, but perhaps without thinking too much about the office of police constable and what it entails. Every police officer, irrespective of rank hold the office of police constable. The office...
Highly Dangerous Weapons & Sentencing

Highly Dangerous Weapons & Sentencing

When sentencing for offences of assault, the use of a weapon will always be an aggravating feature. The sentencing guideline also refers explicitly to “highly dangerous weapons” and will be treated as a particularly serious feature of the offending. In a...
Age & Sentencing

Age & Sentencing

In a recent case (Spivey [2022] EWCA Crim 997) a Judge was faced with offenders who had just turned 18 years of age. When sentencing, he made the following observation: “I do have in mind the guidelines in relation to sentencing children and young people.”...
Clarity on Suspended Sentences

Clarity on Suspended Sentences

Several offences, such as those involving offensive weapons and blades, have minimum sentencing provisions, resulting in imprisonment for at least six months for many offenders. A question arose as to whether such prison sentences could lawfully be suspended. In the...