The use of informers has been criticised by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) recently. The GSOC is investigating claims that some members of the Gardai permitted the continuation of serious criminality in exchange for information on other criminal actors. As I’ve written before, the use of undercover police officers and informers is fraught with problems, in terms of the(…)
Last week, in AKJ and others v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis, the English High Court gave judgment in a case considering the behaviour of undercover state agents and the ability of the courts to monitor their acts. The case concerned claims against the police arising from the actions of various Covert Human Intelligence Sources(…)
Surveillance is of critical importance in the investigation of serious and organised crime, in determining the extent and patterns of criminal behaviour, and in the gathering of evidence to construct a case against a suspect; thus it has been described as one of the most important legal weapons deployed by the United States against Mafia(…)
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales has judged that Gary Dobson may be tried for the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, under the terms of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This follows a previous unsuccessful private prosecution in 1996 when three men, including Dobson, were tried for Stephen Lawrence’s murder at the Central(…)
The Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development yesterday launched its report on women in the criminal justice system, including papers from a conference on the same topic held late last year. The report was launched by Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness, who is said to have noted that murders committed by women attract widespread media(…)
The Irish Times reports today that Operation Anvil, the primary operation of the Garda Síochána against organised crime in Ireland, has had its budget reduced by half to €10million. Operation Anvil, which targets organised and gun crime specifically, was initiated in Dublin in 2005 and on a nationwide basis in 2006, and involves surveillance, Garda(…)
The Department of Justice has invited comment on the White Paper discussion document Organised and White Collar Crime. The paper examines the extent of and legal reactions to a vast array of crimes like drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, white collar crime and bribery. It asserts that the complex nature of such crimes, the degree of(…)
Various developments in criminal justice policies and practice in Ireland and abroad exemplify a marked aversion towards risk, such as the restriction of the right to bail, situational crime prevention, and gated communities. While risk has always been of concern in the criminal justice context, commentators like Barbara Hudson and Lucia Zedner identify a new(…)
The UK Supreme Court has found in Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate that the use of material obtained in a police interview in Scotland without legal representation is in breach of Article 6(1) and 6(3)(c) of the ECHR. Under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, a police constable may detain a person whom he has(…)
A cement truck, emblazoned with the slogans ”Toxic Bank Anglo”, “1,000,000 on golf balls” and “500K for golf”, was driven into the gates of Leinster House on the morning of Wed 29th September. The driver, Joe McNamara, was arrested and has been charged with criminal damage in Dublin District Court. McNamara’s act was supported by a small(…)
