The police, sex work, and Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009

This article considers the origins and aims of Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 and the offence of paying for the sexual services of a prostitute who has been subject to exploitative conduct; this offence is one of ‘strict liability’. Section 14 was implemented on 1 April 2010 and using the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the authors have attempted to show the number of times Section 14 has been used by the police in England and Wales since the Act became law; how the Act has been used and the outcome of the use of this section

Gender ‘hostility’, rape, and the hate crime paradigm

This article examines whether crimes motivated by, or which demonstrate, gender ‘hostility’ should be included within the current framework of hate crime legislation in England and Wales. The article uses the example of rape to explore the parallels (both conceptual and evidential) between gender‐motivated violence and other ‘archetypal’ forms of hate crime. It is asserted that where there is clear evidence of gender hostility during the commission of an offence, a defendant should be pursued in law additionally as a hate crime offender. In particular it is argued that by focusing on the hate‐motivation of many sexual violence offenders, the criminal justice system can begin to move away from its current focus on the ‘sexual’ motivations of offenders and begin to more effectively challenge the gendered prejudices that are frequently causal to such crimes

Cross-examination: The Testimony of Children With and Without Intellectual Disabilities

The present study assessed how children with a range of cognitive abilities fared during a mock cross-examination. Ninety children (aged 4 to 11 years; 18 with intellectual disabilities [ID], 13 with borderline intellectual disabilities [BID], and 59 who were typically developing [TD]) witnessed a staged event, participated in an initial forensic interview (a few days later), and were cross-examined by a barrister-in-training (ten months later). During cross-examination, 98% of all children changed at least one response from their initial interview when challenged. However, group differences in performance (total number of changed responses, ‘resistance’ to challenges), controlling for age and memory for event details, were not significant or did not prove reliable at the level of individual group contrasts. Overall, little robust evidence for group differences in performance on crossexamination could be identified, and memory for event details was the most reliable predictor of performance

Re-evaluating post-conviction disclosure: A case for ‘better late than never’

This article contends that the legal position regarding the scope of post-conviction disclosure duties ought to be revisited. First, it will discuss the leading Supreme Court case on this issue Nunn v Chief Constable of Suffolk Police and will argue that the decision warrants reconsideration as it is grounded in flawed assumptions that cannot be sustained. Second, it will make the case for strengthening the rights of defendants to access material post-trial, particularly in a climate of austerity where more defendants are relying on university projects and other charitable organisations to assist them in appealing against their conviction. Third, the article will suggest that consideration is given to proposals in an ‘Open Justice Charter’ to promote fairness and transparency in the criminal justice system and, furthermore, will suggest that an independent disclosure agency ought to be established to deal with criminal disclosure issues pre and post-trial

A report on the joint follow up inspection of the progress made in reducing delay in the youth justice system

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m02/26352 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Joint inspection of the progress made in reducing delay in the youth justice system Executive summary

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m01/16728 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

A novel matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry imaging based methodology for the identification of sexual assault suspects

An increase in the use of condoms by sexual offenders has been observed. This is likely to be due both to the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and to prevent the transfer of DNA evidence. In this scenario the detection of condom lubricants at a crime scene could aid in proving corpus delicti. Here we show a novel application of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI MSI) for mapping the fingermark ridge pattern simultaneously to the detection of the condom lubricant within the fingermark itself. Two condom brands have been investigated to prove the concept. Condoms were handled producing lubricant-contaminated fingermarks. Images of the ridge pattern were obtained simultaneously to the detection of two lubricants, even several weeks after the fingermark deposition. The results therefore show the potential of MALDI MSI to link the suspect (identification through fingermark ridge pattern) to the crime (detection of condom lubricant) in one analysis. This would enable forensic scientists to provide evidence with stronger support in alleged cases of sexual assault

Evidencing sexual assault: women in the witness box

Drawing on recent research conducted in Scottish criminal courts, this article discusses the evidencing of sexual crimes through victim testimony. Despite significant reforms, complainers in sexual offence trials still find the process traumatic; the amount of sexual evidence introduced into the trial has increased; and the nature of such evidence draws on pervasive and outmoded rape myths