Insights

New research by the RAC has found that the illegal use of handheld mobile phones by motorists has reached “epidemic proportions”.

Three months after the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act, figures have revealed that 332 retailers are no longer selling psychoactive substances and many arrests have been made.

Drivers who fail to pay their fines run the risk of their vehicles being clamped, taken into storage and ultimately scrapped or sold off, according to a warning from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).

The Herald has recently reported (available here) that Celtic’s biggest shareholder Dermot Desmond is being called on to address concerns that a bank he holds a third of shares in, Latvia’s Rietumu Bank, is connected to money laundering and tax avoidance. The story, which comes hot off the heels of the Annual Report on the exercise of powers to search for and seize cash and realisable property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (available here), yet again highlights the ever increasing scrutiny of financial crime, both in the UK and abroad.

There was a large increase in card fraud losses in the UK in 2015, according to new analysis by analytic software firm FICO.

Two sailors have been sentenced to over 40 years imprisonment between them for their role in the smuggling of more than three tonnes of cocaine aboard an ocean-going tug, the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service has reported. The operation apparently resulted in the largest ever seizure of Class A drugs in the UK.

Efforts by police to crackdown on uninsured driving have led to a 4% increase in the number of seizures of uninsured vehicles, figures from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) have revealed.

More than half of drivers in the 25 – 34 age-group are risking getting charged with motoring offences for texting, using apps or going online on their mobiles when they are behind the wheel, according to a new study by road safety charity Brake.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has called for a full-scale review of the UK’s hate crime laws and strategies as part of a new national drive to defeat the rise in race hate crime.

New research by road safety charity Brake has apparently found strong support for strengthening both the charges and sentences faced by criminal drivers.

Police Scotland has recently published the results of its Your View Counts survey for the period April – June 2016.

Total losses as a result of financial fraud involving payment cards, remote banking and cheques amounted to £755 million in the UK in 2015, according to Financial Fraud Action (FFA) UK. This is an increase of 26% compared to the previous year.

A consultation exercise over proposals to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Scotland closed on the 17th June.

Over 52% of drivers questioned by RAC say that tougher penalties should be applied to motorists who use their phones illegally while driving.

The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has recently published a report entitled Hate Crime in Scotland 2015-16.

New legal measures designed to tackle human trafficking and improve support for victims came into force in Scotland on 31st May 2016.

There were more than 100,000 sexual assaults across the UK in the last year according to official statistics on criminal offences.

A study has shown that criminals who have been given a caution by the police are exceptionally likely to continue committing crimes and reoffend.

Motorists are continuing to use their mobile phones while in control of a vehicle, according to new research by the RAC.

Police Scotland recently conducted a major operation on the A90 between Edinburgh and Fraserburgh in an attempt to influence driver behaviour on the busy route.