Dear Colleague,

Welcome to the first edition of a new Crime Bulletin from Doughty Street Chambers.  In this publication we seek to identify topical themes in the criminal law, and provide some insights and thoughts from our specialist crime barristers which we hope may be of help to you and your clients.

In this first issue we focus on the developing nature of law and practice in sexual crime and related offences.  According to MoJ Statistics (published last November) the number of defendants proceeded against and convicted for sexual offences is the highest in a decade.  In addition, conviction rates have increased by 11% in a year, and are also higher than they have been in the last ten years, so perhaps a closer look at how to manage cases of this nature is timely.

In the articles which follow, Ben Newton cites the recent case of Lord Janner as evidence of a growing (and worrying) regard by the CPS of media opinion.  Kate O'Raghallaigh looks at the widening of the definition of criminal behaviour with the new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour, while Emma Goodall considers the arguments for the development of the law regarding alcohol and the capacity to consent. Sarah Elliott QC discusses the increasing use of previous complaint evidence as an essential part of proving an offence and Abigail Bright reviews when Sexual Harm Prevention Orders may be made not just for contact offending but in distribution of indecent image cases. Finally David Rhodes rounds up some of the latest sentencing news including the sentencing lottery for offending by deceit as to gender. 

As well as this new publication, we also offer in-house and other training for our solicitors, and one of our most popular courses provides detailed guidance on managing historic sexual offences cases, including an update on  developments in DNA evidence and how to challenge it.  If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch.  And for clients who want to explore appealing sexual offences convictions, our specialist Criminal Appeals team would be happy to help. 

We take your privacy very seriously; if you are not interested in receiving further mailings from us, please click here to be unsubscribed, or click on the dedicated link at the top of this e-mail. Your details will never be shared with any other organisations.  If you think any colleagues might also be interested in being added to our mailing list then do please feel free to forward this on using the Send to a Friend button on the bottom of the left hand column of this page, and they will be able to subscribe from there.
 
If you think we may be able to assist you or your clients, please don't hesitate to be in touch.  

With best wishes for a prosperous 2016,

Sarah Elliott QC