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In a subscribing Force? Download our free Apps from the Google Play Store, iTunes and the Windows App Store. Not in a subscribing Force! An annual subscription is only £5. Includes free use of any or all of our Apps as well as access via PVH Online. PVH On-lineJune 2024We've added some additional guides to our Soft Skills Toolkit:
May 2024There have been a number of minor changes to the Misconduct Procedures. These are set out in green in the pages concerned. A summary is available here. There have also been some changed to the Attorney General's Guidelines on Disclosure with additional information (shown in green) added to Material in the Possession of Third Parties and The Examination and Disclosure of Digital Material. A new page has been added concerning the Redaction of personal data in case files. April 2024Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs) are introduced with effect from 5 April 2024. These can be issued by the court either on application by a chief officer of police or on conviction for a protest related offence. These are intended to prevent persons subject to the them from participating in disruptive protest related activities. Our guidance on the Home Office Counting Rules is now completely up-to-date. March 2024We've added new guidance to our Questioning Techniques Toolkit regarding Questioning the Victims of Non-Stranger Rape and How Consent Should Work in Relationships. We've also added additional guidance which applies to both Stranger and Non-Stranger Rape and other serious sexual offending concerning:
A number of additional drugs have become controlled. Go to our A - Z Index of Controlled Drugs and search for all drugs marked as applying from 20 March 2024. February 2024We've added guidance for charging decision makers in respect of offences committed at protests, demonstration and campaigns of civil disobedience, together with an indication in the relevant offences as to whether or not an assessment of proportionality must be conducted. We've now completed our expanded Leadership Toolkit:
We've also added a number of new guides to our Soft Skills Toolkit:
January 2024We've updated the Code of Ethics to the latest version. On 31 January 2024 the Online Safety Act 2023:
We've added some guidance to the Points to Prove for the offence of Sending a Malicious Communication arising from the appeal in R v Casserly [2024] EWCA Crim 25:
We have added an additional guide about Using Communications Aids to our Interviews With Victim and Witnesses (ABE) and Questioning Techniques Toolkits. We have updated our Major Religious and Other National Festivals calendar until the end of 2025. December 2023A number of new provisions come into operation on 20 December 2023:
November 2023We've updated our guidance on Dangerous Dogs to include the XL Bully type dog, which becomes a dangerous dog in respect of having a certificate of exemption, being neutered and covered by third party insurance from 1 February 2024, and for all other purposes from 31 December 2023. Nitrous oxide became a class C controlled drug with effect from 8 November 2023. The applicable CCCJS Codes have been added to the relevant pages. It is only an offence to possess, supply, produce, possess with intent to supply or import/export it in connection with the wrongful inhalation of it. There are some very minor changes to the Home Office Counting Rules. October 2023We have added an additional A - Z Index to our Indexes menu - for CCCJS Codes by Offence. Just click on the link for the offence you want and it will take you direct to the CCCJS Codes for that offence. For your interest, we have added guidance concerning Diversionary and Community Cautions, which will replace all other forms of Adult and Youth Cautions in due course. This is based on the legislation, together with the proposed Code of Practice (which may, of course, change prior to these being introduced). We'd be interested in hearing whether you'd prefer this guidance to be on a single page, or be sub-divided into a number of pages. September 2023The lists of regulated poisons and pre-cursors have been updated with effect from 1 October 2023. There are also additional requirements placed on suppliers of such products. August 2023In light of the recent tragedy at an incident on the railway, can we suggest that all response and neighbourhood officers read through our guides to the Attending Incidents and Emergencies on Railway Tracks (Golden Rules for Safety), Be Aware of the Hazards and Persons or Bodies on the Line. We've completed our revised Home Office Counting Rules pages. We have decided to retain the majority of the guidance and best practice that has been deleted from the current HOCR published guidance on the government website. However, please see our disclaimer. We've now split Taking a Conveyance Without Authority and Aggravated Vehicle Taking, and the CCCJS Codes for each, into 2 separate pages. We're also changing the format of our Points to Prove pages, for an example please see Burglary. This should be completed by the end of the month. July 2023Several new offences in the Public Order Act 2023 are introduced with effect from 2 July 2023:
From the same date, the Act introduces a prohibition on the use of police powers solely to inhibit journalism. June 2023From 15 June 2023, the matters requiring consideration by the senior officer when deciding whether to authorise a public procession or public assembly have been amended. A Code of Practice came into effect from 3 June 2023 regarding the Recording and Retention of Personal Data with respect to Non Crime Hate Incidents. May 2023There have been some further changes to the Home Office Counting Rules which commence on 1 May 2023, see our Summary of Historical Amendments for more details. Several new offences have been introduced in the Public Order Act 2023 with effect from 3 May 2023:
April 2023There have been some changes to the Home Office Counting Rules, particularly in respect of Burglary which has seen burglaries in buildings unconnected with residential premises given their own classes. See our Summary of Historical Amendments for more details. Further changes are expected imminently as a result of a review of the Counting Rules as to their compatibility with College of Policing and NPCC guidance. We've added guidance on Considerations in Violence Against Women and Girls Cases Involving Vulnerable Victims. The definition of personally connected in relation to the offence of Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an Intimate Family Relationship has been changed with effect from 5 April 2023. March 2023At the request of a user we've added a guide to Tattooing and Skin Piercing. February 2023From February 27 it is illegal for a child aged under 18 to marry or enter into a civil partnership in England or Wales. Any civil partnership entered into in Scotland or Northern Ireland will also be void if either party is domiciled in England or Wales. It also becomes an offence to Cause a Child to Enter into Marriage. Video-recorded cross-examination and re-examination of vulnerable witnesses and victims of sexual offences and modern slavery is now available throughout England and Wales at all Crown Courts. A new version of Code H of the PACE Codes of Practice has been issued which applies from 10 February 2023, mainly to take account of changes brought about by the insertion of section 43B (offenders recalled on licence) into the Terrorism Act 2000. We've renamed our Harassment and Stalking Toolkit to Stalking and Harassment. January 2023Serious Violence Reduction Orders (available only on conviction) will be introduced on 17 January 2023. They will be subject to a 2 year pilot scheme in Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands Police areas. SVRO issued prior to 17 January 2025 will expire on 17 July 2025. The associated power to search a person who is subject to such an Order will be available throughout England and Wales until 17 July 2025. November 2022From 28 November 2022 the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has been amended to:
From 10 November 2022 offenders who are convicted of any offences of possession, possession with intent to supply and supply of a Class A drug can be made subject to a Banning Order. From 8 November 2022 the informal provisions relating to informed agreement to provide an electronic device for information extraction are replaced with new statutory Powers to Extract of Information from Electronic Devices By Informed Agreement. Whilst there is a new Code of Practice with which officers and staff should be familiar, if you're new to this subject we would recommend reading our 10 Principles for Acquiring Digital Devices and Extracting Material. We have updated our Major Religious and Other National Festivals calendar until the end of 2024. October 2022From 26 October 2022 the new provisions regarding the standard of driving in relation to careless and dangerous driving by police officers and staff take effect. From 28 October 2022 the revised arrangement for the granting of street bail and pre-charge police bail take effect, together with a new duty to seek the views of certain victims when considering varying conditional street bail, and granting and varying pre-charge conditional bail. In summary, custody officers may grant bail for the first 3 months, inspectors for the following 3 months and superintendents for the following 3 months, and 37(7)(b) and (c) are swapped around so that (c) becomes (b) and vice-versa. In addition, a period of 3 hours grace will apply to the detention clock with respect to arrests for breach of pre-charge bail (although reviews of detention must continue in accordance with the original review clock). We have also provided an eFlowchart for Arrest for Breach of Pre-Charge Bail Conditions - eFlowchart. September 2022We've added new guidance for student officers about Working a Beat, and dealing with Boundary Disputes. August 20222 new offences and a number of other provisions relating to game and hunting with dogs apply from 1 August 2022:
July 2022From 1 July 2022, 6 new offences apply in relation to Virginity Testing and Hymenoplasty, two procedures most commonly associated with Forced Marriage and so called Honour Based Abuse. There are further roll-outs of video recorded cross-examinations and re-examinations in respect of video recorded evidence in chief given by victims of sexual offences and modern slavery offences (and any related offences) during proceedings at a number of courts across England and Wales. Minor changes have been made to the Home Office Counting Rules, following the changes set out below. See our summary of historical amendments for more details. June 2022The new offence of Strangulation or Suffocation of Another apples from 7 June 2022, and:
A number of other provisions are amended or come into force from 28 June 2022:
May 2022From 2 May 2022 anyone found guilty of a triable either-way offence in the magistrates' court can be sentenced to a maximum of 12 months' imprisonment. From 12 May 2022:
April 2022We've added a new set of guides to the Procedures for Acquiring Digital Devices and Extracting Material. There are a number of minor updates to the Home Office Counting Rules which apply from 1 April 2022. From 4 April 2022 video recorded cross-examinations and re-examinations may be conducted in respect of video recorded evidence in chief given by victims of sexual offences and modern slavery offences (and any related offences) during proceedings of the Crown Court at Bradford Combined Court Centre. On 6 April 2022:
From 11 April 2022 video recorded cross-examinations and re-examinations may be conducted in respect of video recorded evidence in chief given by victims of sexual offences and modern slavery offences (and any related offences) during proceedings of the Crown Court at Teesside Combined Court Centre. From 13 April 2022 Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB), Gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-Butanediol (1,4-BD) are reclassified to Class B drugs, from when they must be recorded as Class B Drugs (Other). March 2022From 22 March 2022:
From 31 March 2022 video recorded cross-examinations and re-examinations may be conducted in respect of video recorded evidence in chief given by victims of sexual offences and modern slavery offences (and any related offences) during proceedings of the Crown Court at Great Grimsby Combined Court, Kingston-upon-Hull Combined Court Centre and York. January 2022From 31 January 2022 in certain circumstances a child is to be treated as a victim of domestic abuse in connection with any of the provisions of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. If you get confused by which is the correct word to use, e.g. there, their or they're, when writing reports, why not check out our Writing guide. December 2021We've added some more topics to our Soft Skills Toolkit:
We've given the following a separate page: October 2021We have updated our guidance on:
We have updated all our guidance which relates to Warrants and Court Orders to include links to the latest versions of the application forms and, in relevant cases, the notices of application. September 2021We have adopted the approach to defining missing persons recently put forward by the NPCC lead for Missing Persons. This has resulted in the addition of some new and revised guidance:
We have added a easier read version of the College of Policing's Principles of Risk for Decision Makers in our Health and Safety Toolkit. We have extended our calendar of Major Religious and Other National Festivals through to the end of 2023. August 20213 additional substances have been classified as class C drugs from 17 August 2021:
July 2021There is a new national definition of domestic abuse (Section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021) which now applies but at present only for the purposes of an offender being given a polygraph test prior to release on licence in the police areas of Cheshire, Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Greater Manchester, Humberside, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Northumbria, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire from 5 July 2021. From 5 July 2021 Knife Crime Prevention Orders and Interim Knife Crime Prevention Orders can be applied for or given on conviction within the Metropolitan Police police area, although their effect may apply to any part of England and Wales. From 14 July 2021, the following take effect:
A recent court ruling has held that, in respect of assaults, etc. on emergency workers, there is no requirement that an emergency worker was acting lawfully when they were assaulted. June 2021The offence of Disclosing Private Sexual Images with Intent to Cause Distress (Revenge Pornography) is extended to include threats to do so from 29 June 2021.
In additional, jurisdiction has been extended in relation to offences:
The following offences in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 also become triable either-way (thus gaining wider powers and requiring the taking of fingerprints and photographs etc.) and notifiable (class 97/01 - 05) from 29 June 2021:
May 2021Children in the following police forces, in respect of whom a Modern Slavery Referral is made, must now also be referred to an Independent Child Trafficking Guardian: Avon and Somerset (Bristol only), City of London, Derbyshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester Police, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Metropolitan, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Dyfed Powys, Gwent, North Wales, South Wales, by clicking on this link: English or Welsh. In the case of an emergency, a referral can be made by phone using the ICTG assessment line on 0800 043 4303. We have added detailed guidance on the Health and Safety measures and the diseases that may be associated with working with animals, poultry and birds which Wildlife Crime officers and those working in rural communities will find particularly relevant. April 2021From 29 April 2021, the defence of consent for the purposes of sexual gratification no longer applies (except in relation to sexually transmitted diseases in certain cases) to the offences of actual bodily harm, unlawful or malicious wounding or wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent. There have been some minor amendments to the Home Office Counting Rules, please see our Summary of Historical Amendments for more details. March 2021We've added additional guidance to Making the Charging Decision about how to decide whether a case is suitable to be heard in a magistrates' court. We have added new and amended some existing aggravating and mitigating factors in respect of the Sentencing Council's Guidelines relating to offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 to reflect the changes which come into force from 1 April 2021. The revised Guidelines also decrease the amount of drugs which apply in each category in the case of ecstasy, and in categories 3 and 4 for cannabis. The offences to which the changes apply are:
From 22 March 2021 there is a revised definition of antique firearm in force. Our guidance also covers the processes that apply when a firearm no longer meets the revised criteria. February 2021We have now updated our guidance on the National File Standard, the Charging Decision and the Material and Information Required to Make the Charging Decision to reflect that within the 6th Edition of the CPS Charging Guidance. Our Disclosure Toolkit (based on the Disclosure of Unused Material Manual) has now been updated to reflect all of the changes made by virtue of the latest Codes of Practice to the CPIA and the Attorney General's Guidance, including:
January 2021Our Carriage of Dangerous Goods toolkit has been updated to the latest versions of the ADR (European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations). December 2020The Sentencing Act 2020 is in force from 1 December 2020. It doesn't make any significant changes, but brings all sentencing matters into one Act. For example, Restraining Orders made on conviction, which were formally made under section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, are now made under the Sentencing Act. However, Restraining Orders made on acquittal remain under section 5A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 as they are not a result of a sentence. October 2020We've updated our calendar of Major Religious and Other National Festivals through to the end of 2022. August 2020From 24 August 2020 further courts are able to provide for video cross examination for vulnerable witnesses. The power to examine, search and detain set out under Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 (closely follows the existing powers and procedures under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000) applies from 13 August 2020 and includes:
There have also been some changes to the powers under Schedule 7. In addition, if a person who is being examined is transferred to hospital for treatment, their detention clock will now stop except for any time during which they are questioned. July 2020We've added some additional topics to our Soft Skills Toolkit:
April 2020There have been some minor changes to the Home Office Counting Rules. Details are shown in our summary of amendments. March 2020We have now updated our guidance on Performance, Conduct and Complaints to cover the latest regime which applies from 1 February 2020. The guidance covering the previous regime continues to be available. February 2020Child and other vulnerable witnesses may give their evidence in chief by video recording in a wider range of courts from 24 February 2020. January 2020Stalking Protection Orders (and Interim Stalking Protection Orders) apply from 20 January 2020. Enquiry office staff should be aware that it also includes a new notification scheme. Our guide contains full details including the type of file that must be submitted. The new Police Complaints, Conduct and Performance regimes apply from 1 February 2020. Unfortunately, the associated Regulations have only just been published, and the IOPC guidance is still to be published. We are working hard to publish our guidance as soon as possible. We've added a new topic to our Soft Skills Toolkit - Meetings, which explains how to organise and run a meeting. | ||||