Insights

A new prosecution policy was launched this week by the Solicitor General, Lesley Thomson QC, to deal with housebreakers.

Police Scotland has launched a campaign in conjunction with the Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland to discourage people from driving over the festive period if they have consumed any alcohol at all.

A Fife man has been warned that he could face jail after being caught driving while more than five times over the legal drink driving limit, reported STV news this week.

Last week a Dundee man became the first in the city to have his car clamped for non-payment of a fine, according to Scottish Court Services (SCS).

An Edinburgh man has been convicted by a jury of causing death by dangerous driving, reports the BBC.

At Martin Johnston & Socha we like to keep up-to-date with cases passing through the criminal courts, so we were interested to read that a 62 year old man was recently sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for sexually assaulting three women.

One of Scotland’s most respected judges has said that he will be “very sad” to see the requirement for corroboration in criminal cases abolished, reports the BBC.

Earlier this month a man was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment and a two-year Football Banning Order at the Sheriff Court at Glasgow, after trouble flared at a city bar on Renfield Street where the England v Scotland football match was being televised.

Figures released by the European Commission have shown that in the EU as a whole, more than one thousand people are victims of homicide by firearms each year, and half a million firearms that have been registered as lost or stolen in the EU remain unaccounted for.

The equivalent of one person over the age of 50 was charged with drink driving every hour in 2012, according to new research by car insurer swiftcover.com. The study reveals that there has also been a 20% increase in drink driving amongst the over 80s since 2010.

New statistics published this week indicate that 60,080 domestic abuse incidents were reported to the police across the country in 2012-13. Overall, the number of domestic abuse incidents resulting in a report being submitted to the procurator fiscal have increased significantly from 2003-2004, where only 51% of cases were reported to the fiscal, to 78% last year.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (CoPFS) has appointed a new specialist prosecutor to co-ordinate the prosecution service's response to domestic abuse cases from across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is consulting on plans to use GPS satellite tracking to track the whereabouts of sex offenders, including those convicted of sex crimes. It launched the plans this week.

A man was fined £350 and had a five year Football Banning Order (FBO) imposed earlier this week for shouting an offensive sectarian remark during a recent Hearts v Celtic fixture. It is the latest in a series of cases in which FBOs have been imposed.

The Government’s latest analysis of reconviction rates has revealed a drop in the number of people being reconvicted within one year of their being released from custody or given a non-custodial sentence.

The Scottish Government is planning to end the automatic early release of prisoners who present the most serious potential risks to the public. It made the announcement when publishing details of its latest programme of legislation.

Nearly two hundred drivers were caught last week in a Police Scotland initiative targeting unlicensed and uninsured drivers. As part of the initiative, the police used powers under Section 165A of The Road Traffic Act 1988, which allows them to seize the vehicles of motorists caught driving without insurance or a licence.