Issue 459  18th July 2026

AI will be used by police officers to review and summarise evidence in a ground-breaking move that will free them up from being bogged down in paperwork and allow them to spend more time tackling crime on the streets. The current guidance for managing evidence was introduced in 1996, before iPhones, Google, Facebook or WhatsApp existed and case files were often contained to a single box. Now, some investigations have over 500,000 e-books worth of data and an average fraud case contains over 4 million documents.

The Home Office has today accepted key recommendations from Jonathan Fisher KC’s Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences, including legislating to allow the use of AI to turbocharge how evidence is reviewed. The reforms will help officers manage the vast volumes of digital material generated during modern investigations, reducing bureaucracy and helping deliver swifter justice for victims. Under the current system, police officers manually process and provide a written summary for every file that could be relevant to an investigation. Under the proposals, officers will be able to use technology to identify, sort and compile millions of files that are currently reviewed manually. Using Home Office funding, PoliceAI will also pilot AI tools capable of automatically generating summaries of digital material, saving investigators countless hours spent carrying out administrative tasks, with a view to scaling across all police forces in 2027...

Attorney general Lord Hermer should have publicly corrected factual inaccuracies made in a CPS press release in the so-called Fordingbridge case ‘to protect the administration of justice [and] the safety of all involved’, the lady chief justice has said. The attorney general’s power of referral to the courts should be exercised independently and ‘not in pursuit of government agenda, however worthwhile’, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill commented in a Court of Appeal judgment in the case of R v X, Y & Z. The lady chief justice, Lord Jusice Edis and Ms Justice Norton handed down a judgment after the attorney general sought leave to refer as unduly lenient the sentences imposed on three boys convicted of rape. In the main judgment, the Court of Appeal rebuked the Crown Prosecution Service for fuelling misinformed media reports. In the follow up judgment, Baroness Carr noted that the CPS had issued a press release immediately after X, Y and Z’s Crown court sentencing which contained ‘two material factual inaccuracies’...

Turning to the attorney general, the judgment noted it is ‘usually wise not to make any comment about pending legal proceedings. But the attorney general chose to do so. Where, as here, the court has some concerns about public statements made by the attorney general about the proceedings which he had issued, it is proper for the court to record and explain those concerns.’ The Court of Appeal’s concerns included a lack of correction of reported inaccuracies ‘whilst at the same time speaking about the gravity of the offending’ and the ‘lack of condemnation of the personal vilification of the judge at any stage’...

Waste criminals trashing high streets and the countryside will face tougher on-the-spot fines, the government has announced today (15 July 2026). As part of a major crackdown on waste crime, new legislation will increase the maximum fine for fly-tipping waste to £5,000 – a 400% uplift from the previous level of £1,000. The top fine for littering on streets will also be increased to £750 – up 50%. Coming into force this summer, the increased fines will act as a stronger deterrent and help reduce cases of littering and fly-tipping. Local authorities will be able to hand down harsher penalties, reflecting the real harm that waste criminals cause to the communities and environment that they ruthlessly disregard...

Local authorities will retain full discretion over the level of fine issued, with penalties scaled to reflect the severity of the offence. Councils can issue fines anywhere between the minimum and maximum thresholds, ensuring that punishments remain proportionate, while the higher ceiling sends a clear signal that serious offenders will face serious consequences...

Retaining jury trials for fraud cases and allowing the Serious Fraud Office to pay whistleblowers are among recommendations put forward by Jonathan Fisher KC in his independent review of disclosure and fraud offences. The review, comissioned by the home secretary, was expected to be published in December 2025. This was moved to May before finally being published this week - days before the House of Commons' summer recess. Fraud in the Digital Age - which states ‘fraud has historically been treated with indifference' - makes 47 recommendations to fill what Fisher describes as a 'massive justice gap'. Arguing for the retention of jury trials for complex cases, Fisher states that ‘experience shows juries cope when cases are properly managed and presented’...

Under the government's Courts and Tribunals Bill, 'technical and lengthy fraud cases' could be heard by a judge alone. However in his report Fisher states: ‘The retention of jury trial for the most serious offences in the criminal lexicon but not for fraud would devalue the importance of fraudulent misconduct and reinforce the historic ambivalence towards fraud as a civil matter rather than a serious public wrong. This would be the wrong message for parliament to send.’ On payments to whistleblowers, the report recommends that government should conslt on the design of a suitable scheme. The SFO is 'best placed' to decide how the size of the reward is detemined, Fisher suggests, and ‘careful consideration is given to the type of individual that will be deemed eligible'...

Support for child victims of modern slavery will be strengthened as the Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTG) service is rolled out across all local authorities in England and Wales, backed by £25 million. The ICTG service is for children who may have been victims of trafficking, exploitation, or modern slavery. A child’s guardian is an independent supporter who can speak up for them, explain complex decisions and processes, and get them the right help at the right time. Guardians also work with local authorities, police and other safeguarding teams to put the child’s safety, needs, and future first. Their work provides fundamental support to vulnerable children who have survived terrible ordeals and helps ensure they do not fall back into exploitation.

Demand for the ICTG service is real, urgent, and growing. In the year to March 2025, guardians helped 2,730 potential child victims of modern slavery, up 10% from the year before. More than half these children were UK nationals, and most were victims of criminal exploitation such as the county lines drug trade. Accompanying children to appointments, advocating for their health needs, getting them enrolled in school, identifying compensation to which they may be entitled, supporting them to access legal or immigration experts, and helping them navigate the criminal justice system are just some the things independent guardians do. Above all, they build trust with the child by listening to them, putting their needs first, and giving them a sense of safety, security, and stability...