As we await the release of the Netflix series Adolescence this evening by award winning writer Jack Thorne, I am interested to see how the series will deal with very real, yet often publicly unheard problems of how our criminal justice system, in particular the police, manage children who are alleged to have committed serious offences ..read more

On 6 February the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee published its response to the latest iteration of the FCA’s proposals to “name and shame” firms under investigation by the regulator ..read more

Following the enactment of the Online Safety Act (“OSA”) in October 2023, Ofcom has prepared a multi-stage plan for its implementation. Under this legislation, online service providers are subject to a number of new obligations, and Ofcom has a duty to ensure compliance with these requirements.  ..read more

On 17 January, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) secured its first Unexplained Wealth Order, in respect of a property believed to have been purchased with the proceeds of a £100 million fraud.  ..read more

Whatever its cause, a backlog of over 73,000 Crown court cases is not acceptable. Delays for complainants, defendants and witnesses all impede justice. In the third quarter of 2024, the Crown court received over 31,683 new cases and disposed of 29,502. The passage of time will not solve the problem. Change is inevitable.  ..read more

A recent update on INTERPOL’s website is unlikely to raise eyebrows. The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) has acknowledged that it has been experiencing delays in meeting its deadlines due to an increased workload, both within the Commission and among other INTERPOL stakeholders. This will be all too familiar to those targeted by red notices and their representatives. Resourcing issues and delays have long plagued the CCF, despite operational rules requiring decisions on disclosure requests within four months and deletion requests within nine months ..read more

On 10 January, INTERPOL made history by issuing its first ever Silver Notice, a new tool designed to trace and recover criminal assets. The inaugural notice, requested by Italy, focuses on identifying assets linked to a senior mafia member, showcasing its potential to strike at the heart of criminal networks ..read more

The government has published official guidance on reasonable fraud prevention procedures, setting the deadline of 1 September 2025 for large organisations to make sure they are compliant ..read more

Recent reports have underscored the difficulties businesses face in identifying and preventing modern slavery within their operations ..read more

This health, safety law and corporate manslaughter update provides a summary of news stories in the period April 2024 – September 2024 ..read more