If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The decision by the UK publishers not to distribute Amanda Knox's autobiography has been interpreted in some media circles as being another example of the detrimental impact of our so called draconian libel laws. In reality, the publisher's decision is more likely to have been based on an understandable concern not to expose themselves to potential contempt of Court as well as libel consequences, pending the outcome of the forthcoming re-trial in Italy.
Too often victims feel intimidated and forgotten, treated as an afterthought by a 'system' that makes their already horrific experience worse. As Victims' Minister my role is to champion the needs of victims and ensure that their voices are heard. One of the ways I am tackling this is by revising the Victims' Code.
What does appear to be clear beyond reasonable doubt is that crime in this country is falling. It's falling in some other countries too, but the decline is particularly marked in Britain. Crime in England and Wales has halved since the 1990s, including an 8% fall in a single year.
News that veteran BBC broadcaster, Stuart Hall, has admitted to a string of sex crimes involving girls and young women in the 60s, 70s and 80s is especially troubling for its similarities with the Savile enquiry.
No sooner had Stuart Hall admitted what he'd done then some voices were calling for anonymity for people accused of sexual crimes. Now at first glance you might think, yes, why should someone's reputation be smeared before they have been proven guilty?
How was it possible that a former electrical salesman could bank up to £60m selling something found to be utterly useless - based on a novelty £13 golf ball finder - for over a decade to security forces, including Governments, police and the UN?
In liberal Britain right now it seems the gay marriage law is about to be passed, the country is, in effect, rewriting what it believes to be right. Is there any chance this ethos can spread to those young men who are portrayed in El Hosain's film?
Criminal organisations are increasingly making use of the opportunities offered by globalisation with groups forging alliances with counterparts in other countries.
Prison is our least visible, most neglected, public service. Perhaps no surprise then, that when people in communities turn their attention to the state of our prisons and the state of people in them, many feel impelled to get involved in changing a flawed justice system.
We've heard today that new research suggests Britain is becoming a "more peaceful" place with violent crime falling by a quarter over the last decade. The European Institute for Peace thinks violent crime is falling faster here than anywhere else in Europe - though it still costs us £124billion.
Capital punishment is no easy answer. It is a barbaric, horrific and out-dated relic, tainted by the nightmare grisly ceremony of the whole process, something incongruous to a modern society and rightly consigned to the dustbin of history. It must never return.
For the last few months I have been examining the reasons why so many of the decisions to refuse asylum are being overturned by Immigration Judges here in the UK. Home Office statistics show that 25% of initial decisions to refuse asylum, are being overturned.
Sheriffs are back. It's official. The popularity of two current shows, Longmire and Vegas, prove that, if we ever tired of the authoritative figure with slow stride and wide hat, he's having a renaissance. But what does he represent in modern TV and film? One real-life Sheriff tells all.
England is a divided country, divided even in communities who have almost everything in common.
Criminals often target sex workers and other 'hate crime' groups, before moving on to the wider public. Two of the most notorious serial killers Peter Sutcliffe and Gary Leon Ridgway initially murdered sex workers before targeting other women. So if we can get sex workers to report crimes, everyone gains.
Another police-Twitter scandal over the weekend. The feed of 17 year old Paris Brown, the first Youth Police and Crime Commissioner, contained some pretty stupid things she'd tweeted a couple of years ago. This is a new genre of story: public-servant-said-something-silly-on-Twitter.
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