Catch up on all the justice sector headlines you may have missed...
Focus on violent crime not misogyny, says police chief
Police should focus on burglary and violent crime and not incidents such as misogyny where no offence has been committed, a senior officer has said.
Chief Constable Sara Thornton said forces were too stretched to deal with "deserving" issues, such as logging hate incidents against women.
Cladding announcement does not go far enough, says firefighters’ union
The government’s announcement of a partial ban on the future use of some flammable cladding does not go far enough, according to the Fire Brigades Union. Matt Wrack FBU general secretary said: “This is not the outright ban on combustible cladding that firefighters have been calling for.
Historic day for the military as all roles are opened to women
The historic day was marked at a land power demonstration on Salisbury Plain, involving some of the first women to join the Royal Armoured Corps.
Mr Williamson announced that as of today, women already serving in the Army are able to transfer into infantry roles. Those not currently serving will be able to apply for infantry roles in December of this year, with new recruits starting basic training in April 2019.
Organised crime threat greater than terrorism - National Crime Agency
The threat posed by organised crime in the UK is now greater than terrorism, the National Crime Agency has said.
Its latest report said there were 4,600 serious and organised crime groups, committing offences including child abuse, trafficking and drug dealing.
Director general Lynne Owens said that crime cost the economy £37bn a year.
Budget 2018: Police Federation accuses Phillip Hammond of ‘prioritising potholes’ over crime
“Prioritising potholes” over crime is an example of the government treating officers with contempt, says the Police Federation.
The association, which represents 120,000 rank-and-file officers, said the Budget should have addressed “the overwhelming issues facing the police service”, and accused the government of showing contempt for officers.
Police to sue government unless it backs down over cuts
Police chiefs in England and Wales will take legal action in the high court against the government unless it backs down on plans to deduct hundreds of millions of pounds from their budgets, the Guardian has learned.
The unprecedented decision was taken by the National Police Chiefs Council, which sent a formal letter to the Treasury saying it will seek a judicial review of the government’s proposals.
It marks a new low in relations between police chiefs and the government.
Criminal law not keeping pace with digital world – report
Online communications law is incoherent and fails to protect victims of abuse from harassment, according to a report by the Law Commission.
Commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the study calls for the reform and consolidation of existing criminal legislation dealing with offensive and abusive communications.
Budget 2018: Extra £1bn will stave off armed forces cutbacks
The chancellor pledged £1 billion over the next two years to modernise defence in a move that will stave off deep short-term cuts.
The extra cash is designed to boost cybercapabilities and anti-submarine warfare capacity, and to maintain the pace of the Dreadnought submarine programme. It came on top of £800 million handed to the MoD in March, of which £600 million was earmarked for the Dreadnought submarines. They will carry the Trident nuclear deterrent when the Vanguard class goes out of service.
