There are few things more sensitive than sexual offences and how we
deal with sex offenders.

In the calendar of criminal offences, there can be nothing more
appalling than the sexual violation of any individual and the whole
issue, quite understandably triggers painful and volatile debate. Most
importantly, the victims of sexual offences are caused anxiety and
distress whenever the subject of sex offenders becomes a topic of
public debate and unless the issue is discussed accurately and
responsibly, there is the real risk that victims will be deterred from
reporting crimes to the police.

So it is that Ministers, Commentators and interest groups, including
the NSPCC http://www.nspcc.org.uk/, waded into this highly sensitive
area when the ruling in R (on the application of F by his litigation
friend F) and Thompson (FC) (Respondents) v Secretary of State for the
Home Department (Appellant) [2009] EWCA  Civ 792
http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/decided-cases/docs/UKSC_2009_0144_Judgment.pdf
came into force a few days ago.

It does none of these groups any credit to analyse for a moment the
ill-judged, knee-jerk reactions which flooded onto the media. The
misinformation and at times downright hysteria coming from the mouths
of people who should know better was shocking. Furthermore, there can
be no excuse for it. I think that we can safely assume that Ministers
and Charities such as the NSPCC have legal advice and that the impact
of ‘F’ upon the way sex offenders are monitored in England and Wales,
was recognised as being marginal and certainly not worthy of the
hyperbole of the last few days.

Lets put a few myths right. Sex offenders still have to register as a
matter of compulsion. Sex offenders still remain on the list for life,
as they have always done and do not automatically come off it after 15
years. Sex offenders will have to convince a Police Force that they
are safe to come off the Register after 15 years of being on it in the
community and one can assume, having not been convicted of further
offences.

Listening to the rhetoric of Ministers and in particular Theresa May,
the Home Secretary over the last few days, it is not surprising that
vulnerable people, victims and those under threat, were shaken by what
they were hearing.

The problem is, that when it comes to sexual offending, politicians
have been brought up to take no chances… look what happened to Ken
Clarke for instance. Best deal with it in broad strokes so that there
can be absolutely no room for misunderstandings, or worse, the media
deliberately making it a crisis.

For a moment, for those who want a calm consideration of the
situation, let’s get to the facts.

By way of background to the legal foundations for the present
position, we need to go back to the Sex Offenders Act 1997
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/51/contents  and in
particular, Section 1(3)
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/51/pdfs/ukpga_19970051_en.pdf
. This laid down that there would be an automatic statutory
notification upon conviction of the name, address and date of birth of
the offender within 14 days of the conviction. This was to be given to
the police and that they should further give notification of any
address at which they would be staying for 14 days or longer.

Then came the Criminal Justice and Courts Services Act 2000
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/43/contents which reduced
notification time to 3 days and introduced a requirement that if the
offender went overseas, they should give notification within 48 hours
of travel to include details of the carrier, points of arrival, where
they were staying, date of return and point of arrival.

Both pieces of legislation were repealed and substituted by the Sex
Offenders Act 2003
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/contents  Section 82
onwards http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2012/9780111521403.
Take a look at this provision. It strengthens the already stringent
regime of the previous legislation and quite properly restricts any
movement and activity of convicted sex offenders comprehensively. I
make this point and lay out the historical development of these three
protective statutes, because listening to Ministers over the last week
or so, you could be forgiven for thinking that it has all been swept
away. It has not.

Victims of sex offences and those who may be on the edge of reporting
sex offences should know that the law provides for extensive
restrictions upon those convicted. Ministers do irreparable damage to
the criminal justice system when they imply otherwise.

A close reading of ‘F’ also makes it clear that the Supreme Court were
bolstering this protective series of provisions. Lord Phillips
confirmed in terms that it is lawful to monitor for life sex offenders
and everything that their Lordships said, marked and reiterated the
heinous status of sexual offending in the eyes of the law.

The case was not about whether sex offenders should or could be
monitored for life, it was a case decided upon the very narrow issue
of whether 15 years after release, some could apply for a review, as
to whether they might be removed from the Register.

As a matter of law, and quite rightly in my view, the Supreme Court
decided that being put on the Register for life, without the chance of
review was disproportionate when taking into account the provisions of
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/the-human-rights-act/the-convention-rights/article-8-right-to-respect-for-private-and-family-life.html.

Proportionality was considered with reference to the leading authority
of De Freitas v Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries, Lands and Housing [1999] 1 AC 69 [at page 80]
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/1998/30.html , in that the
requirement in question should be no more necessary than to accomplish
the objective.

The objective is to keep Society safe. There was considerable
consideration in the case of whether sex offenders can ever be safely
let back into the community without close monitoring and this debate
continues outside of the Supreme Court. Perhaps reassurance can be
gained from official statistics for 2008 which suggest that
reoffending rates for sex offenders at 26.8% is lower than domestic
burglary [59.9%], and Robbery [38.1%
http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending].

As such, the Supreme Court ruled that no chance of review was disproportionate.

That is the reality. Of course some will say that there should never
be an opportunity of review, they would probably be the same people
who argue with passion that ‘the keys should be thrown away’. But
whether we like it or not, the ultimate protection for Society is
rehabilitation and sometimes, just sometimes, the odd sex offender
might persuade a policeman that that is possible. That is the top and
bottom of it and it seems to me that this debate is more a product of
the political conference season than responsible public reassurance.

On the 1st September 2012 Section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 comes into effect. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/10/section/144/enacted

There is nothing in this title to give away that the new law which is quite literally going to hit the streets on this date represents not only a significant statement of political intent but also fundamentally weakens one of the most iconic ‘rights’ in the legal dictionary.

Section 144 of the Act lays down a new offence of squatting in a residential building. It has a number of elements:

A person who is in the residential building as a trespasser must have entered as such.

They must have known or ought to have known that they were trespassing, so, for instance, protecting from conviction someone who enters residential property as a result of bogus letting agents misrepresentations.

And the person is living in the building or intends to live there for any period of time, protecting those who gain access, say, to pick up mail.

The offence does not apply to a person who enters as a legitimate tenant and subsequently defaults with rent payments. In these circumstances, the landlord will be expected to pursue established eviction proceedings.. Upon conviction, following summary trial or plea, the sentence can be up to 6 months imprisonment and\or a £5,000 fine.

The provision was introduced to protect owners and lawful occupiers of any type of residential building and makes it more difficult for trespassers to assert they have rights in respect of residential buildings because their occupation of that building will be a criminal act. The real significance of this is that Section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Law_Act_1977#Section_6_-_Violence_for_securing_entry, which makes it an offence for a person without lawful authority to use, or threaten violence to secure entry to premises against the will of those inside, which may include someone who is a trespasser, will be curtailed. Put another way, in relation to residential properties, squatters’ rights are dead.

The Police will not now be deterred from a squatters’ rights notice on the door of a residential building. The Police will have a lawful authority under Section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/section/17  to enter that property and make an arrest.

On the face of it, there can be little complaint that the blight, as some see it, of residential property, which has been left unoccupied, being taken over by trespassers is being brought under control. I see that and I respect it.

But the consequences of this new legislation will be that, sometimes and I stress, sometimes, homeless, vulnerable people will be forced back onto the streets. This is a concern which is accepted and articulated by the Ministry of Justice in their notes which accompany the Act and cannot be dismissed as liberal heart bleeding.

We should expect the Police to enforce their new powers with tact and sensitivity.

This sort of legislation does highlight the debate about the way the Police deal with disadvantaged members of Society. It is right to emphasise, that apart from the rare political occupation, many of those who occupy deserted residential properties are themselves homeless, unemployed and generally poor.

There are a number of pieces of respected research upon Police behaviour which continues to highlight the prejudicial way  by which the Police deal with the socially deprived. Current debate, quite properly has concentrated upon the attitudes of the Police to racial or religious  groups, and to that of sexuality and the spotlight has been turned away from the way the Police treat the socially and economically deprived. This is somewhat concerning as the majority of society with whom the Police interact are from exactly those latter categories.

Bethan Loftus makes the point very clearly in her book ‘Police Culture in a Changing World’ [OUP] http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199560905.do when she observes [at page 165], that “the economically excluded were the prime targets of police concern and practice. Officers saw themselves as locked in battle with what they termed ‘scrotes’ who would otherwise infest their respective areas.”

Section 144 is just the sort of legislation which might be utilized by a disparate group of interests, from public opinion driven politicians to a police force which continues to have the much less analysed prejudices of social status, or even class, very much in its DNA.

In many respects, and particularly on the surface, this section represents a sound and much needed development. There is no doubt, that it will reassure the property owner, who is entitled to such reassurance, but we should think a little further than loud cheers of welcome, and think to its enforcement.

With Section 144 comes responsibility and it raises some fundamental questions about how the Police relate to the vulnerable.

I am standing for Vice Chair of the CBA. Here is my manifesto.

Any comments or observations (hopefully polite!) are welcomed.

Over the last decade, I have been representing the Criminal Bar both on the CBA and the Bar Council.

During that time, I have developed a reputation as one who fearlessly and independently stands up for the criminal barrister in whatever forum that becomes available so that our voice is heard. I will continue to do this.

For instance, I demanded that the Bar Council expose the potentially corrupt practice of referral fees and forced it to the top of the agenda in numerous CBA and Bar Council meetings.

In my time working on the CBA Committee, I have seen genuine and committed negotiations undertaken on our side by people of integrity, only to see them undermined by the duplicity of politicians.

There is, of course, a place for continued negotiation, there always will be, but there is also a time to admit that Government have taken us for granted and abused our goodwill. That time has come.

I do not hesitate to say now that I am in favour of properly considered, carefully planned, industrial action, whether it be a complete withdrawal of labour or more targetted, subtle, but effective withdrawal of cooperation.

We are at a time in the history of our profession when we cannot afford to be cheated upon again by government.

The next two years or so will be critical for the Criminal Bar. Without any doubt, the Coalition Government will be developing and implementing legislation as their last throw to influence the General Election. We know only too well how the last Government rushed through legislation in the dying days of their power to attack the livelihoods of criminal barristers.

There are major challenges ahead.

We must oppose proposals which could result in ‘one stop shops’ for solicitors and be vigilant to oppose the implementation of block contracts and unfair price competition which is just around the corner and only last week supported by Ken Clarke.

Preserving the separate and distinct identity of the Criminal Bar will be a major challenge in the next few years and the CBA must encourage new business models and practices which will allow us to compete on an even playing field with solicitors.

Quality Assurance will not go away and we need to make sure that whatever regime may be put in place, it is structured so as to reflect the talents and abilities of the Criminal Bar. Ultimately, if this is not achieved, I would not hesitate to advocate withdrawal from the scheme.

As someone who does a significant proportion of work on Circuit, I will ensure increased and significant engagement between the CBA and the Circuits. There is always a concern that the CBA can become London orientated. Over the last year or so, we have been attempting to correct this and conferences on Circuit have been a great success. As Editor of CBQ for nearly 7 years I have always sought to reflect the Circuit view as well as all in the rank and file of our profession.

But more can be done to involve the Circuits. As SE Circuit Representative on the Bar Council, I am acutely aware of life as a circuiteer and I will encourage the trend of more meetings on Circuit and opportunities for regular Q & A Sessions around the Country to give everyone a real chance of getting involved.

The Criminal Bar is a broad church. As a product of a Comprehensive School I have for many years been a campaigner for social diversity. My work for the Citizenship Foundation in support of State School students taking an interest in the work we do is but one example of the central spine of my belief. Fairness.

I have no aspirations for future preferment, but my aspirations for the Criminal Bar are significant.

In the old days, candidates would be expected to include within their manifesto, their views on detailed policy, I hope that I have done that. But my manifesto in this election is nothing short of a promise to stand up to those who are attacking us….whoever they may be.

Voting online has started now. Please access https://www.criminalbar.com/ to vote.

This Monday (18^th June 2012) at the Amnesty Human Rights Centre in London, Archbishop Tutu will open the first phase of the Iran Tribunal Hearings http://www.irantribunal.com/Eng/EnHome.html

For over two years we have been working with a group of International lawyers and jurists, hand in hand with the bereaved and surviving victims of murder and torture in Iran to bring about a series of public hearings where their voices can be heard and evidence can be presented as to the atrocities which happened in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 1980’s.

The hearings will be in the style of the Bertrand Russell tribunals http://www.911review.org/Wget/www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/littleton/v1!aims.htm   of decades earlier which heard harrowing evidence concerning the Vietnam conflict.

On Monday, Commissioners from around the World will begin to hear the oral testimony of over 80 witnesses, some of whom have travelled hundreds of miles to be able to be heard for the first time. After that, the hearings will move to the Hague, where further evidence will be presented by advocates on behalf of the bereaved and victims of this cruel period.

The evidence which both tribunals will hear will involve eye witness accounts of torture and summary execution of thousands of political prisoners throughout Iran. The victims included prisoners who had served their sentences but refused to recant their political beliefs and the developing massacre all but completely eliminated any remaining political opposition to the regime of the then Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.

I have read the sworn evidence of many of the witnesses who will be heard over the next five days in London. Indeed, I have spoken to young people who tell of their mother or father being executed or of prisoners compelled to put the final bullet into the head of an executed person.

One member of our Steering Committee was a victim of torture in prison and tells of being led from his cell on a number of occasions, having been told he was to be executed, only to discover that it was a mock execution.

The Iranian government has never identified those who were secretly executed and tortured and has never issued an official explanation for why political prisoners of different beliefs, many of whom who had been in prison for years were suddenly and summarily killed.

To a significant degree, these important hearings are also as a result of the utter ineffectiveness of the United Nations to accept and deal with what happened in Iran back in the 1980’s. Despite the bereaved and victims of torture petitioning and virtually begging the UN to show a lead on this, political alignments in that organisation have crippled it from taking any lead on this matter.

So it is that on Monday, we begin to hear the voices of 80 very brave people.

They deserve the respect and the ear of the World.