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The latest acid attacks in north-east London on Thursday, which saw five people being sprayed with a corrosive liquid, add to a growing number of cases being reported in the UK.

Last month cousins Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar were left with life-changing injuries after a corrosive liquid was thrown at them through a car window.

And in April clubbers in east London were caught up in an attack involving acid, which left 20 people injured.

Assaults involving corrosive substances have more than doubled in England since 2012, police figures show.

The vast majority of cases were in London.

It is legal to purchase strong acid but there have been growing calls for regulations to be tightened in the wake of recent incidents.

The National Police Chiefs Council lead for corrosive attacks, Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Kearton, told the BBC Asian Network that reported acid attacks had seen a significant rise in percentage terms, but that compared with knife crime the number of incidents were "tiny".

'I thought I was going blind'

Takeaway restaurant owner Imran Khan was attacked while out delivering food in Barking, east London, in November.

He was confronted by a group of youths who demanded money and food while hurling racist abuse at him. When he got back into his vehicle they squirted a corrosive liquid in his face.

Mr Khan says the pain "overtook everything" and he feared he would be left completely blind.

He was saved from long-term damage by a quick thinking shopkeeper who washed his face with clean water at the scene of the attack.

He says the attack affected him "big time" leaving him feeling unsafe in public, especially after dark.

Weapon of choice

Metropolitan Police figures obtained by the BBC show men are twice as likely to be victims of acid attacks in London than women after being linked to a number of gang crimes.

The vast majority of cases never reach trial.

Dr Simon Harding, a criminologist and expert on gangs at Middlesex University, says acid is becoming "a weapon of first choice".

"Acid throwing is a way of showing dominance, power and control, building enormous fear among gang peer groups," he says.

Gang members know there are advantages in using acid to hurt someone rather than a knife because "the charges are more serious if you are caught with a knife and the tariff for prison sentences are much higher".

Dr Harding added that "acid is likely to attract a 'GBH with intent' charge while using a knife is more likely to lead to the attacker being charged with attempted murder"

"There's no specific offence of throwing acid. It's a harder offence to prove because there is rarely any DNA evidence and its much easier to dispose of a plastic bottle than it is a knife."

Dr Harding says the government needs to attack the problem on three fronts.

He says acid is too easily available, sentencing needs to be brought into line with knife crime and a programme of education is required.

"Gang members do respond when they realise a victim of an acid attack may never work again or may need 15 or 20 plastic surgery operations."

Physical and emotional damage

"This is a horrendous crime, it maims, it disfigures," ACC Kearton explains.

"What particularly disgusts me about this crime is that it's premeditated, no-one carries acid around on the streets for any other reason than using it for this reason.

"The intention behind this is for someone to live with this for the rest of their lives.

"That is lasting physical and emotional damage, its sometimes why some people choose this as a form of attack."

Asked what can be done to stop it she says: "To have an acid in a different bottle to the one it was purchased in can be an offence, we can also regulate volumes of sale, we can regulate ages at which people can buy it."

Jaf Shah, from the London charity Acid Survivors Trust International says the phenomenon isn't new and dates back to the Victorian times in Britain, but says the recent figures are shocking.

"The recent spike in attacks means the UK has the highest number of reported acid attacks per capita in the world."

He is among those calling for regulations on the sale of acid to be tightened.

What does the law say?

There are no age restrictions on buying household bleach or drain cleaning products containing acid in the UK.

There are rules which limit the sale of certain substances under the explosives precursors and poisons (EPP) rules aimed at businesses who sell or supply such chemicals in bulk.

The Met said it was working with retailers to raise awareness that people might be buying corrosive substances to use as weapons.

But Jaf Shah wants the government to make it compulsory when purchasing corrosive chemicals to pay by card that is traceable to an individual and to make acid available only under licence.

Labour MP for East Ham Stephen Timms has tabled an adjournment debate for Monday in the House of Commons on the rise in the number of acid attacks.

About a third of last year's acid attacks in the capital took place in the London borough of Newham, which is in his constituency.

Mr Timms says he is "most concerned about sulphuric acid" and that carrying a bottle without justification should be treated as an offence, like carrying a knife.

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Acid attacks: What has led to the rise and how can they be stopped? - BBC News

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The latest acid attacks in north-east London on Thursday, which saw five people being sprayed with a corrosive liquid, add to a growing number of cases being reported in the UK. Last month cousins Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar were left with life-changing injuries after a corrosive liquid was thrown at them through a car window.

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There were 2.1m violent incidents in England and Wales in 2011/12, with 3% of adults victimised, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) published today.

The release shows that the number of violent incidents has halved from its peak in 1995, when the survey estimated over 4.2m violent incidents. The CSEW asks people face-to-face about their experiences of, attitudes about and perceptions of a range of crimes. Last month we reported on the police recorded crimes and wrote about they can differ from the CSEW statistics:

Though police-recorded crimes are down 8.4%, the number of crimes reported in the survey has fallen by 7.1%. 8.9 million crimes were reported in the survey in the year ending September 2012, while the police recorded 3.8 million crimes in this period.

The statistics published today on violent crime and sexual offences cover a range of offence types. The CSEW state that "violence spans minor assaults, such as pushing and shoving that result in no physical harm through to serious assault and murder. Sexual assault covers offences from indecent exposure to rape."

So what are the key findings from the release?

Homicide

540 homicides were recorded for 2011/12 - this is the lowest since 1989 and down 15% on 2010/11. Homicide covers murder, manslaughter and infanticide.

The number of homicides recorded by the police increased from 1961 to 2002/03 but has seen a generally downward trend since. The peak includes 172 homicides committed by Harold Shipman, which although were committed over a long period of time, were recorded by police in 2002/03 as a result of Dame Janet Smith's inquiry.

The chart below shows the number of homicide offences recorded by the police in England and Wales from 1961 to 2011/12. It's important to note however, that the figures are based on the year in which offences are recorded by police rather than the year of the incident.

Two thirds of homicide victims in 2011/12 were men. Homicides against men were also more likely to be committed by a friend or acquaintance whereas for women it was most likely to be committed by a partner or ex-partner.

There were 9.7 recorded homicide offences per million people in 2011/12. Children under the age of one were the group most likely to be a victim at 21 homicides per million population. This is followed by those aged 16 to 29 with a homicide rate at 15 per million population.

To remind us how rare homicides are in England and Wales, the CSEW has helpfully provided some other numbers on causes of death for comparison:

Figures for 2011 show that more people were killed as a result of falls (3,885), intentional self-harm (3,644), and transport accidents (1,815), but fewer were killed by exposure to smoke fire and flames (242) or accidental drowning or submersion (175)

Weapons

Knifes and sharp instruments continue to be the most common method of killing according to the report with 209 such homicides recorded in 2011/12 - this is down on 234 recorded for 2010/11.

In the last year almost a quarter of male homicide victims were killed by hitting or kicking without a weapon and 26% of female victms were strangled or asphyxiated. 39 homicide victims were killed by shooting in 2011/12, down on the previous year which included 12 victims of the Cumbria shooting. The number of homicide victims killed by shooting however is at the lowest number since 1989.

Sexual and intimate violence

Women were more likely than men to have experienced domestic or sexual violence - 3% of women had experienced some form of sexual assault (including attempts) in the past year, compared with 0.3% of men according to the CSEW 2011/12.

The difference between women and men was narrower when looking at victims of domestic abuse, which includes sexual and non-sexual abuse. 7.3% of women (1.2m) and 5% of men (800,000) reported having experienced domestic abuse in the last year.

Because questions in this category are particularly prone to under-reporting, the survey also includes a self-completion module which has a large impact on results. Of all respondents who stated they were a victim of domestic violence in the past year in the self-completion module, only 5% had reported this in face-to-face interviews.

Intimate violence includes experience of emotional, financial and physical abuse by partners or family members, as well as sexual assaults and stalking by any person. The most common form of intimate violence for both men and women was non-sexual partner abuse. When asked if they had experienced this type of abuse since the age of 16, 24% of women and 13% of men said yes.

Just as with other crimes and offences in the survey, the prevalence of intimate violence varies according to the victim's characteristics. For women. those aged 16-19 or 20-24 were more likely to be victims of domestic abuse or stalking. Sexual assault was most likely to occur to women aged 16-19. The highest risk group for domestic abuse amongst women were those that were separated, who made up 1 in 5 victims.

As well as asking about experience of intimate violence, respondents were asked questions to indicate their attitude towards it. 8% of people stated that if the victim was under the influence of drugs then they were 'completely' or 'mostly' responsible for someone sexually assaulting or raping. 7% stated flirting heavily with an abuser beforehand made a victim responsible, and 6% thought this true if the victim was drunk.

Victims of violence

The CSEW provides some interesting data into the characteristics associated with being a victim of violence. Young men are most likely to be victims of violence according to the report.

Men were nearly twice as likely as women (3.8% compared with 2.1%) to have experienced one or more violent crimes in the year prior to interview. The figures also showed that single people had the highest chance of being a victim (6.6%).

The CSEW states that although the profile of those most likely to be victims remains similar across all types of violence, this differs for domestic and sexual violence offences where women are more likely than men to be victims.

The table below shows the number of incidents by crime type recorded by the CSEW. The downloadable spreadsheet includes the data since 1981 and all the data behind the charts. What can you do with this data?

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Crime statistics for England & Wales: violent crime and sexual offences

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There were 2.1m violent incidents in England and Wales in 2011/12, with 3% of adults victimised, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) published today. The release shows that the number of violent incidents has halved from its peak in 1995, when the survey estimated over 4.2m violent incidents.

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Should we be worried? via shutterstock.com

Crimes recorded by the police have jumped 10% overall in the 12 months to March 2017 - the largest annual rise in a decade, according to new data recently released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

But in the same report, the ONS reported that the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales showed a 7% decrease in crime compared to the prior year.

How can both be true? Is there really a significant increase in crime in England and Wales, or has crime actually fallen?

The new ONS figures do show some alarming rises: violent crimes surged 18% in the 12 months to March 2017. The homicide rate jumped 26%, robberies were up by 16%, and sexual assaults by 15%. Offenders were more likely to use weapons, offences with knives or other sharp instruments climbed 20% in the year, and those involving firearms increased by 23%. Police recorded property crime rates also increased. Theft offences rose 7% over the year, while public order offences increased by a dramatic 39%.

Ministers should be concerned that the numbers suggest the country may be verging on a violent crime wave. Still, there is some evidence to the contrary, suggesting that crime should not be such a pressing concern.

Conflicting evidence

The two methods of studying crime statistics - a crime survey and police recorded crime - simply measure it in different ways. And they count different types of offences.

Police recorded crimes only include offences that come to the attention of police officers and are entered as official statistics. In contrast, the Crime Survey numbers are generated after face-to-face questioning of as many as 35,000 households.

The Crime Survey results include crimes not reported to police that would not appear in the number of police recorded crimes. But the survey does not capture a lot of serious offences that are counted in police recorded crimes, such as homicide, weapons attacks, and sexual assault. Officials admit that the face-to-face method means people are sometimes not forthcoming when talking about private crimes such as sexual assault. The survey method also does not cover victimless crimes such as drug possession.

In addition, unlike the police reported statistics, the Crime Survey does not count crimes occurring in communal settings, such as college dorms, assisted care facilities, or prisons.

John Flatley, a statistician with the ONS acknowledges the seeming discrepancy. In the recent report, he attributes the rise in reported crime to "ongoing improvements to recording practices". But he also concedes that there were actual increases in crimes in certain categories.

So, which is the better method for judging changes in crime rates over time? For most low-level property crimes, which are often not reported to police, the Crime Survey is the better option. But for violent and serious crimes, the Crime Survey does not cover many of them and police recorded crime data is more effective.

This means that for those most concerned about the resurgence of violent crime, the recent substantial increases in violent offending recorded by the police is alarming.

Police numbers

Opposition politicians have pointed out that while reported crime was rising, substantial cuts were made to policing resources nationwide. In the Conservatives' bid to reduce spending, the number of police officers in England and Wales has declined in recent years. Overall, police personnel are down 14% since 2010.

Despite such criticism, there is no scientific evidence that can show these reductions actually caused any increase in crime. There are just too many other factors that might explain fluctuations in crime rates, such as unemployment, the availability of social services, and the level of drug use.

The substantial increases in crime from the ONS certainly achieve bigger headlines. Perhaps the more important observation is that the results are already providing political fodder to various sides in the debate about the state of crime and policing resources. Unfortunately, the divergence in statistics means politicians can simply pick the source or statistic that suits their interests.
This article was updated on July 28 to correct the figure for the number of households invited to take place in the Crime Survey for England and Wales. It is 35,000, not 500,000.

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Is crime going up or down in England and Wales? What crime statistics actually tell us

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Crimes recorded by the police have jumped 10% overall in the 12 months to March 2017 - the largest annual rise in a decade, according to new data recently released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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A development of luxury homes in Cambridge has been daubed with graffiti - written in Latin, of course.

Vandals spray-painted the new five-bedroom river-front houses with the words Locus in Domos Loci Populum.

Locals have said the messages, which appear to be a protest against the development, could "only happen" in the university city.

The homes, in Water Street, Chesterton, priced from £1.25m are on the site of an old pub.

Cambridge University Professor of Classics, Mary Beard, said: "This is a bit hard to translate, but I think what they're trying to say is that a lovely place has been turned into houses."
More on this and other news - in English - from Cambridgeshire
The five detached homes, overlooking the River Cam, are being sold jointly by agents Bidwells and Tucker Gardner as a "true 'reflection' of the space and tranquillity" of living in this part of the city.

According to Google Translate, the phrase locus in domos means "room in the house", and loci populum means "local people".

The graffiti has prompted a flurry of reaction on social media, with many arguing about the meaning.

A number have suggested the vandals typed "local homes for local people" into the Google translator, and came up with the phrase "locus in domos loci populum".

One wrote: "Whatever the translation, it's criminal damage."

Other comments include: "This is the most Cambridge thing ever" and "it's a different class of graffiti in Cambridge".

The graffiti is thought to be a protest against the development and the high cost of housing in the city.

According to a recent report from think tank Centre for Cities, Cambridge house prices are the third highest in the country, with the average cost of a city home coming in at £475,820 meaning many people are priced out of the market.

A spokesman for the developer, HC Moss (Builders) Ltd, said the company was "taking steps to remove the graffiti" and believed it was an isolated incident. Security measures at the site were being reviewed, they added.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed they were investigating the graffiti on four houses in the street.

"A member of the public reported it to us at about 08:00 BST. We're investigating criminal damage in the form of graffiti," a spokesman said.

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'Only in Cambridge': Homes daubed with Latin graffiti - BBC News

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A development of luxury homes in Cambridge has been daubed with graffiti - written in Latin, of course. Vandals spray-painted the new five-bedroom river-front houses with the words Locus in Domos Loci Populum. Locals have said the messages, which appear to be a protest against the development, could "only happen" in the university city.

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'Now, did you understand all that?' Shutterstock

Language is pervasive throughout the criminal justice system. A textual chain follows a person from the moment they are arrested until their day in court, and it is all underpinned by meticulously drafted legislation. At every step, there are challenges faced by laypeople who find themselves in the linguistic webs of the justice system.

Anyone who reads a UK act of parliament, for example, is met with myriad linguistic complexities. Archaic formulae, complex prepositions, lengthy and embedded clauses abound in the pages of the law. Such language can render legal texts inaccessible to the everyday reader. Some argue (see Vijay Bhatia's chapter) that this is a deliberate ploy by the legal establishment to keep the non-expert at an arm's length.

But closer to the truth is the fact that legal language, like all language in all contexts, is the way it is because of its function and purpose. Those drafting laws must ensure enough precision and unambiguity so that the law can be applied, while also being flexible and inclusive enough to account for the unpredictability of human behaviour.

The cost of this linguistic balancing act, however, is increased complexity and the exclusion of the uninitiated. Legal language has long been in the crosshairs of The Plain English Campaign which argues for its simplification, claiming that "if we can't understand our rights, we have no rights".

It is not only written legal language that presents difficulties for the layperson. Once someone is arrested they go through a chain of communicative events, each one coloured by institutional language, and each one with implications for the next. It begins with the arresting officer reading the suspect their rights. In England and Wales, the police caution reads:

You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

This may seem very familiar to many readers (perhaps due to their penchant for police dramas), but this short set of statements is linguistically complex. The strength of the verb "may"; what exactly constitutes "mentioning" or "relying", and what "questioning" is and when it will take place, are just some of the ambiguities that may be overlooked at first glance.

What the research says

Indeed, research has found that, although people claim to fully comprehend the caution, they are often incapable of demonstrating any understanding of it at all. Frances Rock has also written extensively on the language of cautioning and found that when police officers explain the caution to detainees in custody, there is substantial variation in the explanations offered. Some explanations add clarity, while others introduce even more puzzles.

This issue of comprehensibility is compounded, of course, when the detainee is not a native speaker of English.

Shutterstock

The difficulties in understanding legal language are typically overcome by the hiring of legal representation. Peter Tiersma, in his seminal 1999 book Legal Language, noted that "the hope that every man can be his own lawyer, which has existed for centuries, is probably no more realistic than having people be their own doctor".

However, in the UK at least, cuts in legal aid mean that more people are representing themselves, removing the protection of a legal-language expert. Work by Tatiana Tkacukova has revealed the communicative struggles of these so-called "litigants in person" as they step into the courtroom arena of seasoned legal professionals.

Trained lawyers have developed finely-tuned cross-examination techniques, and all witnesses who take the stand, including the alleged victim or plaintiff, are likely to be subjected to gruelling cross-examination, characterised by coercive and controlling questioning. At best, witnesses might emerge from the courtroom feeling frustrated, and at worst victims may leave feeling victimised once again.

The work of forensic linguists has led to progress in some areas. For instance, it is long established that the cross-examination of alleged rape victims is often underpinned by societal preconceptions and prejudices which, when combined with rigorous questioning, are found to traumatise victims further. Recent reforms in England and Wales provide rape victims with the option to avoid "live" courtroom cross-examination and may go some way towards addressing this issue.

Further afield, an international group of linguists, psychologists, lawyers and interpreters have produced a set of guidelines for communicating rights to non-native speakers of English in Australia, England and Wales, and the US. These guidelines include recommendations for the wording and communication of cautions and rights to detainees, which aim to protect those already vulnerable from further problems of misunderstanding in the justice system.

Language will forever remain integral to our criminal justice system, and it will continue to disadvantage many who find themselves in the process. However, as the pool and remit of forensic linguists grows, there are greater opportunities to rebalance the linguistic inequalities of the legal system in favour of the layperson.

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Language puts ordinary people at a disadvantage in the criminal justice system

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Language is pervasive throughout the criminal justice system. A textual chain follows a person from the moment they are arrested until their day in court, and it is all underpinned by meticulously drafted legislation. At every step, there are challenges faced by laypeople who find themselves in the linguistic webs of the justice system.

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Lower your gaze from the blackened husk of Grenfell Tower and you see the flowers and the signs decorating the streets. Many are photocopied pleas to help find the missing: 12-year-old Jessica, baby Amaya. Steve. Moses. Nestled among them are the others: scribbles and boards and A4 sheets reading Cuts Cost Lives and Corporate Murder, and People's Lives Don't Matter Under Capitalism.

This, Theresa May, is what a people's public inquiry looks like. The sign-writers and passersby talking in the streets around Grenfell have grasped a truth that cabinet ministers are still fumbling towards: whatever and whoever a judge finds at fault - this procedure or that subcontractor - the true causes of the failures go far wider. They lie in the way Britain is run.

While in Victorian Manchester, Friedrich Engels struggled to name the crime visited on children whose limbs were mangled by factory machines, or whose parents were killed in unsafe homes. Murder and manslaughter were committed by individuals, but these atrocities were something else: what he called social murder. "When society places hundreds of proletarians in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death, one which is quite as much a death by violence as that by the sword or bullet; its deed is murder just as surely as the deed of the single individual," he wrote in 1845, in The Condition of the Working Class in England.

Over 170 years later, Britain remains a country that murders its poor. When four separate government ministers are warned that Grenfell and other high rises are a serious fire risk, then an inferno isn't unfortunate. It is inevitable. Those dozens of Grenfell residents didn't die: they were killed. What happened last week wasn't a "terrible tragedy" or some other studio-sofa platitude: it was social murder.

By all means, let's wait for a judge to confirm the reports that the tower was covered in banned cladding, and that the 79 men, women and children confirmed to have died in the fire (at the time of writing) possibly did so for a grand saving of £2 a square metre.

But we can draw our own conclusions about whether well-heeled renters in a luxury tower would have received the contempt dished out to Grenfell's council tenants after they published detailed reports on their homes being firetraps. Those local politicians who gave council taxpayers a sizeable rebate even while starving local services of funds have evidently chosen whose side they are on - and it's not that of the families who have been made homeless.

The social violence documented by Engels wasn't aimed at a particular person and wasn't usually intentional. These were acts licensed by those in public or private sector authority, who decided the lives of poor people mattered less than the profits of the rich.The impoverished were merely the feedstock of the wealthy. The logic still applies today. It's why the politicians and officials who will not countenance the use of empty private property to house victims of a major catastrophe are the same set who make it their business to kick council tenants out of their homes to turn them into private assets ... to be left empty. The same attitude ties together the three strands that have created west London's 24-storey crematorium: deregulation, outsourcing and spending cuts.

The 19th-century industrialists who resisted the factories acts would recognise a kindred spirit in Boris Johnson, who has claimed "health and safety fears are making Britain a safe place for extremely stupid people". The next TV interviewer to face the foreign secretary should ask him either to repeat those words or apologise for them. But the deadliest rationale came from David Cameron, who as PM wrote off the legal protections given to workers and consumers as "an albatross around the neck of British businesses". I cannot remember a more brazen recent statement of profits before people.

To look after its properties, the council created the largest management organisation of its type in England - unfeasibly large, it turned out, and unaccountable to its own tenants. This was the £11m-a-year body that handed the £10m refurbishment contract to the builder Rydon. The best that can be said of such outsourcing - whether in managing flats or running council departments - is that the public ends up paying more for a service that's worse. It allows big companies to profiteer from basic public needs, and to evade democratic control.

Spectacular examples of social violence, such as Grenfell, are thankfully rare. They usually occur out of public sight. This decade of austerity has been a decade of social violence: of people losing their cash income for not being disabled enough, of families turfed out of their homes for having more than two kids or a bedroom the state deems surplus to requirements. These are tales of private misery, of a person or a household behind a closed door plunged into stress, anxiety, depression or worse.

Last year I met a Parkinson's disease sufferer, Paul Chapman, who after being put through a fitness-to-work assessment and having most of his benefits cut told his wife, Lisa: "I'll clear off and I won't take my tablets or my insulin. And it'll be over then. I won't be here."

Others have told me of friends who didn't only express such impulses, they acted on them. Their last days will have been soundtracked by a government deriding "skivers". Years of public bullying and official harassment of the poor have funded the £93bn of tax breaks and bungs chucked at big corporations, property developers and outsourcing firms.

Austerity is at the heart of the Grenfell story. Think of the firefighters, who have seen stations closed and colleagues laid off by May, when she was home secretary. Consider the nurses treating the dying and the maimed, who will be on lower pay now than they were in 2009.

Most of all, remember this: the cuts made since 2010 were the poor picking up the tab for the venality of rich bankers. The two are jammed up next to each other in Kensington and Chelsea, one of the richest and most unequal patches of land in the world. Just minutes away from Grenfell, you can find a house for sale at £30m ( albeit "in need of full modernisation"). The residents of the investment-starved Tower died last week did so partly because of the greed of their neighbours.

To judge by the nods and winks since the election, May's government is preparing for the beginning of the end of austerity. I'll believe it when I see teaching assistants getting a pay rise or benefits for the working-age poor going up. In any case, it will be too late to undo the damage already done. In their book, The Violence of Austerity, the academics Vickie Cooper and David Whyte collect the evidence. Together with their co-authors, they record how the disability assessment process in England is "associated" with an extra 590 suicides. How cuts to local government funding mean that Liverpool council no longer has a single dedicated health and safety officer. How austerity has meant more people dying sooner.

Spending cuts, deregulation, outsourcing: between them they have turned a state supposedly there to protect and support citizens into a machine to make money for the rich while punishing the poor. It's never described like that, of course. Class warfare is passed off as book-keeping. Accountability is tossed aside for "commercial confidentiality", while profiteering is dressed up as economic dynamism. One courtesy we should pay the victims of Grenfell is to drop the glossy-brochure euphemisms. Let's get clear what happened to them: an act of social murder, straight out of Victorian times.

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Over 170 years after Engels, Britain is still a country that murders its poor | Aditya Chakrabortty

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Lower your gaze from the blackened husk of Grenfell Tower and you see the flowers and the signs decorating the streets. Many are photocopied pleas to help find the missing: 12-year-old Jessica, baby Amaya. Steve. Moses. Nestled among them are the others: scribbles and boards and A4 sheets reading Cuts Cost Lives and Corporate Murder, and People's Lives Don't Matter Under Capitalism.

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The Old Bailey's first non-white circuit judge has said she was often mistaken for a witness or defendant when she started working as a lawyer.

Anuja Ravindra Dhir began her career in the 1980s. She became a circuit judge at the Old Bailey in February.

The 49-year-old said at first, most clients did not want to be represented by a young Asian Scottish female.

She also said that, when she wanted to go to university in the 1970s, she was told to be a hairdresser instead.

As well as being the first non-white circuit judge at the Old Bailey, Judge Dhir is the youngest.

She said: "My daughter, it would never cross her mind being treated differently because she's a female or because she's not white, whereas in my generation we did.

"We were surprised when people didn't treat us differently. Not now, but when I came to the bar, I was not expecting to be treated like a white Oxbridge male at all."

'Aim lower'

At school in Dundee, Judge Dhir said she was steered towards a different career.

"I wasn't the cleverest person in my year at school," she said.

"I'm dyslexic so I find it difficult to read and write. And when I went to school in the 1970s in Scotland, women were not encouraged to aim high.

"When I first said to a teacher at school I wanted to go to university when I was older, she told me that I should aim a little lower and suggested I try hairdressing instead."

Judge Dhir said when she was called to the bar in 1989, most barristers were male, white, from a public school, and with "some connection" to the profession.

"Now that's four differences already before we start," she said.

"Added to that, most clients did not want a young Asian Scottish female representing them so that made it harder for me to build a client base."

Mistaken identity

Judge Dhir said she once had to produce her wig and gown before security allowed her into court.

"I got used to turning up at courts and people saying to me 'Witness? - no - Defendant? - no' and looking rather surprised when I said I was the advocate," she said.

"I'm often asked if there is a glass ceiling. I think sometimes there are two ceilings - or no glass ceiling at all.

"There is one glass ceiling that's in our minds, that's what we think we can achieve so perhaps we impose our glass ceiling and that has happened to me several times."

The Old Bailey houses 15 judges - 10 men and five women. Three out of six of the most recent intake of judges are women.

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Old Bailey's first non-white judge was mistaken for defendant - BBC News

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The Old Bailey's first non-white circuit judge has said she was often mistaken for a witness or defendant when she started working as a lawyer. Anuja Ravindra Dhir began her career in the 1980s. She became a circuit judge at the Old Bailey in February.

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British Muslims are suffering an "explosion" in faith-based hatred with many women now afraid to conduct their daily lives, according to a new report which also warns of heightened racism following the vote on Brexit.

The annual survey by the anti-Muslim hate monitoring group Tell MAMA found a 326 per cent rise in incidents last year, while the Muslim Council of Britain group of mosques said it had compiled a dossier of 100 hate crimes over the weekend alone.

Political leaders including David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn both voiced concern in the Commons on Monday, while Labour grandee Harriet Harman said many now seemed to believe it was "open season" for racists.

Poles and other minority groups have suffered several verbal attacks throughout the country in recent days, and the National Police Chiefs' Council said it had detected a 57 per cent rise in reports to a police online hate crime reporting site between Thursday and Sunday compared to the corresponding days four weeks ago.

In utter shock: just been called p**i in my home town! Haven't heard that word here since the 80s..!
- Sima Kotecha (@sima_kotecha) June 27, 2016

On Monday, Sima Kotecha, a reporter for Radio 4's flagship Today programme, said on Twitter that she was in "utter shock" after having been called a "P**i", adding: "Haven't heard that word here since the 80s."

But Tell MAMA said its annual report showed the surge in anti-Muslim hatred, fuelled by terrorist incidents, was happening well before the EU referendum.

Its survey found that while far right activists are often behind the incidents online, many attacks are happening in the real world - at schools and colleges, in restaurants and on public transport. The number of offline incidents rose 326 per cent in 2015 from 146 to 437.

It said the effect on Muslim women - particularly those wearing any Islamic clothing - was now so grave that many were being prevented from conducting "day to day activities".

The group's chair, former labour communities minister Shahid Malik, said: "We stand in unchartered territory", adding: "The statistics paint a profoundly bleak picture of the explosion of anti-Muslim hate both online and on our streets, with visibly Muslim women being disproportionately targeted by cowardly hatemongers. This exponential growth is testament to the fact that despite great efforts to fight anti-Muslim hatred, as a society we are still failing far too many of our citizens.

"With the backdrop of the Brexit vote and the spike in racist incidents that seems to be emerging, the government should be under no illusions, things could quickly become extremely unpleasant for Britain's minorities. So today more than ever, we need our government, our political parties and of course our media to act with the utmost responsibility and help steer us towards a post-Brexit Britain where xenophobia and hatred are utterly rejected. Failure to demonstrate the necessary maturity in leadership at this delicate moment in our history could have some significant and far-reaching consequences for us all."

Its report said the greatest impact was being felt by women who were visibly Muslim and "whose ability to travel and be free from fear and intimidation is being increasingly curtailed given national and international events".

It said 61 per cent of victims in the cases it recorded involved women and of those, 75 per cent were clearly identifiable as Muslim, for example due to their headscarves or veils. Tell MAMA said women were more likely to be attacked or abused while travelling on public transport to town and city centres or when shopping. Some 11 per cent of incidents occurred in schools and other colleges, it said, with 35 cases of abusive behaviour or physical attacks. Tell MAMA said Ofsted and the Department for Education should consider anti-Muslim bullying and hate in their evaluations of schools.

Many incidents have been reported widely before. Last November, a woman who was caught on CCTV abusing a pregnant Muslim woman on a London bus - accusing her of being a supporter of Isis- was given a suspended jail sentence.

Other victims include taxi drivers. One man, Yasir Hussain, told The Independent, he had been called a "P**i bastard" on 18 June this year, after another driver pulled up alongside his minicab and hurled abuse at him.

Tell MAMA said its data suggested the largest proportion of incidents involved perpetrators aged between 13 and 18. Tell MAMA said the finding "suggests some teenagers are being radicalised and are moving away from the mainstream views of their age group who are much more multicultural in their orientation".

In the Commons on Monday, Mr Cameron described incidents of racism directed at migrants in the wake of the referendum result as "despicable", while London Mayor Sadiq Khan ordered Scotland Yard to be "extra vigilant".

Meanwhile, Dr Shuja Shafi, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "As the results of the referendum became known, I called for our politicians to come together and heal the divisions that have emerged as a result of the campaign. Now we are witnessing the shocking extent of this with reports around the country of hate speech and minorities being targeted.

"Our country is experiencing a political crisis which, I fear threatens the social peace."

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Muslims are suffering from a surge in faith-based attacks after Brexit

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British Muslims are suffering an "explosion" in faith-based hatred with many women now afraid to conduct their daily lives, according to a new report which also warns of heightened racism following the vote on Brexit.

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In a debate on freezing the assets of suspects under new terrorism laws, Dr Sentamu criticised the use of the "reasonable suspicion" test rather than "reasonable belief."

He compared the measures to problems with police stop and search powers.

The Archbishop, who was once an advocate in the High Court of Uganda, argued for the creation of an appeals process, and added that he had been a "victim" of stop and search eight times.

He told peers: "When the policeman suddenly realised that I was a bishop, that didn't stop me being stopped and searched," and claimed that such police checks were often on the basis of "he doesn't look like one of us".

Calling for automatic judicial review of asset-freezing orders, the Archbishop warned, "otherwise you have no money and your assets have gone".

"I am not very happy with this very low bar in court," Dr Sentamu told ministers. "I think you are going in a wrong way."

The Archbishop went on to quote former Lord Chief Justice Lord Bingham of Cornhill's translation of people's rights in Magna Carta. But he acknowledged terrorism was "a heinous crime".

He told peers: "I don't believe that the law alone will do it. I don't think we need to have a law which almost doesn't say that, when you are taken before a court in this country and people are about to seize your assets, you will know that it has been done justly and not simply on reasonable grounds to suspect.

"And, because terrorism is a crime, should the lawyers who are intending to participate in it also be seen as criminals?"

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Archbishop 'stopped and searched eight times'

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In a debate on freezing the assets of suspects under new terrorism laws, Dr Sentamu criticised the use of the "reasonable suspicion" test rather than "reasonable belief." He compared the measures to problems with police stop and search powers.

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A black British DJ has released footage of him being pulled over by London police and told 'it's a fact' black people dressed in gangster-style clothing are more likely to be stopped. The video, posted on YouTube in early January shows DMO Deejay being stopped while driving a Bentley in Piccadilly

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Police officer: black people in 'gangster' clothes more likely to be stopped - video

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A black British DJ has released footage of him being pulled over by London police and told 'it's a fact' black people dressed in gangster-style clothing are more likely to be stopped.

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Scotland Yard officers have used force against a disproportionately large number of black people in recent months. Official figures released on Tuesday showed that the number of people of every other ethnic group against whom force was used was relatively low.

Labour condemned the picture painted by the official figures, which also showed that officers were injured 643 times when using force against members of the public, regardless of ethnicity, age or sex.

Police use of force

According to the Metropolitan police's data, 36% of the 12,605 uses of force in the three months to the end of June involved people who self-identified as black or black British, while those groups account for only about 13% of London's population.

White people form about 57% of the capital's population, but were involved in 45% of the incidences of use of force. About 10% more of the cases involved people who self-identified as Asian, a group that makes up about 18% of the city.

"This is a deeply troubling report. It cannot be right that black people and young black men in particular are so much more likely to have force used against them," said the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott. "All police forces throughout the country must treat all communities equally, and with respect."

She suggested that the country may need to "relearn the lessons" of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, which accused the Met of institutional racism.

Abbott said: "I also deplore the injuries to officers. More must be done to protect them in the line of duty. This shows we need to rebuild trust and the links between communities and the police. Labour will recruit 10,000 more community police officers to tackle this problem."

Commander Matt Twist of the Met police said: "Our officers face the most dangerous situations every day. It is important we give them the right training and equipment to do the job."

Twist, who is the National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman on restraint and self-defence, added: "Use-of-force techniques are there to stop violence and danger, protecting not only the officer making an arrest but also the public at the scene, and the person being arrested."

Scotland Yard published the figures in line with the Home Office's annual data review requirements. The data covers the full months of April, May and June and includes "tactics available to officers from taking hold of someone's arm, handcuffing a person who appears compliant, deploying a police dog, using a baton, CS spray, Taser or a firearm".

More than 85% of incidents involved men. The Met said that nearly 14% of people against whom force was used were believed to have mental health problems.

According to Scotland Yard, the most reported tactic was handcuffing a compliant person, while spit guards, which are being trialled across London, were used 25 times in the three-month period.

"One of the more serious use of force techniques is Taser. Records show it was fired in only 10.5% of cases where it was deployed, so in 89.5% of cases over this time period it was used but not fired, demonstrating how effective a tactic it is at defusing potentially volatile situations and reducing the need for further use-of-force techniques."

Twist said: "It is really important to note that this first three-month period is very early data and not comparable against anything else. It will take time for us to ensure officers comply with filling out this form after every use-of-force interaction becomes routine or second nature.

"We know that there will be instances of force used in this period which have not been recorded but, having scrutinised the data, we have already seen a steady increase in online recording. We have been training officers on the new form through officer safety training and briefings."

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Met using force against disproportionately large number of black people

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Scotland Yard officers have used force against a disproportionately large number of black people in recent months. Official figures released on Tuesday showed that the number of people of every other ethnic group against whom force was used was relatively low.

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Hate crimes in England and Wales have risen by 18%, Home Office figures have suggested.

Police recorded 52,528 hate crimes in 2014-15, up from 44,471 in 2013-14, with more than 80% being racially motivated, the statistics showed.

The figures are in contrast to evidence from the annual crime survey which suggests hate crime has fallen by 28% over the last seven years.

David Cameron said the increase was "unacceptable".

The Home Office said "likely factors" in the increase included improved recording of crime, a greater awareness of hate crime and an improved willingness of victims to come forward.

Figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales suggest there were an estimated 222,000 hate crimes on average per year based on data collected between 2012-13 to 2014-15 down from 307,000 incidents between 2007 to 2009.

It comes as Mr Cameron announced that anti-Muslim hate crimes will be recorded as a separate category by all police forces in England and Wales.

Analysis
By Dominic Casciani, BBC Home Affairs correspondent
The headline figure for hate crime looks really grim, but delve deeper into the statistics and you'll find something else going on.

Police can only record what they know about, so to truly understand hate crime you have to also look at the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) - the internationally respected rolling programme of interviews with ordinary people.

The CSEW is not without its statistical limitations, but it casts its net far wider than the police and it reports that hate crime has fallen by 28% over the last seven years.

So while the prime minister has tweeted that rising hate crime is unacceptable, it's almost certain that police figures are up because more people are reporting it.

In other words, it is very difficult to argue that we are becoming a nastier nation when the evidence indicates we're becoming increasingly intolerant of hate crime.

Commenting on the Home Office figures, Mr Cameron tweeted: "Rising hate crime is unacceptable - we must do more to fight it which is why we will make sure police record anti-Muslim attacks."

Hate crime is defined as an offence which is perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic.

'Challenge hatred'

Karen Bradley, minister for preventing abuse and exploitation, said this type of crime was "absolutely abhorrent".

"This government will do everything to eradicate them," she said.

"The increase in recorded hate crime shows that more victims have the confidence to come forward and that the police are improving the way they identify and record hate crimes. We welcome this."

But shadow policing minister Jack Dromey said police cuts were adding to the problem.

"These shocking figures are a fresh warning against the reckless hollowing out of neighbourhood policing... When it comes to hate crime, the role of neighbourhood police is crucial not only in preventing these crimes happening in the first place, but in supporting victims and the most vulnerable."

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for hate crime, said: "The police are working hard to reduce its impact by listening to victims and supporting the most vulnerable, however, it is also vital that communities and partner agencies come together to challenge hatred wherever they see it."

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Hate crimes reported to police up 18% in England and Wales - BBC News

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Hate crimes in England and Wales have risen by 18%, Home Office figures have suggested. Police recorded 52,528 hate crimes in 2014-15, up from 44,471 in 2013-14, with more than 80% being racially motivated, the statistics showed. The figures are in contrast to evidence from the annual crime survey which suggests hate crime has fallen by 28% over the last seven years.

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How would you feel if your right to freedom of movement was infringed because other people your age were involved in criminal activity? You would be outraged, and rightly so. Yet this is the reality facing teenagers and young people as Scottish railway network ScotRail introduces the Mosquito anti-loitering device at two of their stations.

In an effort to move young people on, the Mosquito emits an unrelenting high-frequency sound which affects those under the age of 25, who have the capacity to hear high-pitched sounds in a way that older people, whose hearing is gradually declining, do not.

This move is in response to recent criminal activity committed at Hamilton and Helensburgh stations by groups of youths. However, the use of such devices targets all young people, regardless of their behaviour.

The device deliberately discriminates, exploiting biological vulnerabilities which young people cannot do anything about. According to the inventors, this is a " safe " sound which relies upon the irritation it causes as a way of getting rid of youngsters when they are "loitering", and therein lies its aim.

Compound Security, CC BY-SA

Compound Security, the company which developed the device 12 years ago, maintained in an interview (listen in at 6:50) with BBC Radio Scotland that its target market is not domestic homeowners, but it is possible for anyone to go online and purchase one of these devices from as little as £345.

Problem kids

The company markets the device by referring to " problems with kids and teens" who are "damaging property, hanging around in rowdy groups, littering, smoking and drinking, playing music..." The language used by Compound Security, such as describing the device as having the " teeth to bite back at these kids " arguably attempts to demonise young people, and suggests that only a hostile approach to them "hanging about" - surely a benign act - can prevent such behaviour.

But the anti-social problems this device seeks to prevent are not unique to those under 25. There are plenty of adults who are guilty of such behaviour. When criminal activity is involved, the police should be called. Devices such as the Mosquito encourage people to take the law into their own hands "without confrontation", according to Compound, while inadvertently infringing the human rights of all those under 25.

ScotRail maintains that the devices are having a positive effect which has led to a reduction in incidents at these two stations. But this does little to ease the disquiet of the Scottish Commissioner for Children and young people themselves, such as the Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, Amy Lee Fraioli, who believe that the device constitutes indiscriminate targeting of young people.

Put simply, these devices are breaching the rights of our young people. We all have human rights, regardless of race, sex or age. These include the right to a private life, free movement and peaceful assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). While it would be unthinkable to have practices that hinder the exercise of such rights by black people or women, for example, the same sense of outrage doesn't appear to apply to those under 25.

Shutterstock

Children's rights

As well as being protected by wider human rights conventions, such as the ECHR, those under 18 also have additional, special protections under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The deployment of the Mosquito infringes a number of rights enshrined in the UNCRC, including: the principle of non-discrimination (article 2); the principle that the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all decisions affecting them (article 3); the right to express views and influence decision making in all matters affecting them (article 12); the right to freedom of assembly and association (article 15); the right to protection from violence, abuse and injury (article 19); and the right to play, leisure and recreation (article 31).

In 2010, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe found that the use of the acoustic devices to disperse children and young people is a disproportionate interference with their rights under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which includes the right to respect for physical integrity. Their use may also interfere with article 11 of ECHR which guarantees the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The use of acoustic pain may also be a breach of their rights under article 3 of ECHR to be free from degrading treatment.

The Scottish Commissioner for Children strongly condemns the use of mosquito devices. Backed by calls (see paragraph 37) from the United Nations itself, the Commissioner argues that this type of device suggests that children and young people are unwanted in society.

The way forward

There needs to be greater work done to bridge the gap between adulthood and childhood and to challenge the negative stereotypes that are perpetuated about teenagers. Deploying devices such as the Mosquito isolates an entire generation of under 25s who know that they are perceived to be a nuisance. This cannot be positive, and only widens the gulf between young people and adults in society.

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With 2018 designated the Year of Young People in Scotland, this would be the perfect opportunity for concerted efforts to actually engage with young people. Of course criminal activity is not acceptable in any situation, but anti-social behaviour and so-called loitering by youths suggests that young people have nowhere to go, which is the real problem here. Only with proper dialogue can we begin to address their issues and concerns.

Let them tell us, in their own way, why they are "loitering", what they think would help reduce anti-social behaviour and ultimately, how we can all work together to promote a well-integrated society. A social media campaign could start the ball rolling, asking the questions and encouraging young people to participate in finding the answers.

As wise old Albus Dumbledore proclaims in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban: "A child's voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who've forgotten how to listen." It is time to open our ears to something that we can all hear - if we choose to.

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The use of sonic 'anti-loitering' devices is breaching teenagers' human rights

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How would you feel if your right to freedom of movement was infringed because other people your age were involved in criminal activity? You would be outraged, and rightly so. Yet this is the reality facing teenagers and young people as Scottish railway network ScotRail introduces the Mosquito anti-loitering device at two of their stations.

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Police forces are not doing enough to tackle the growing threat of online fraud, a public spending watchdog has found.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the issue was "not yet a priority" for all local police forces and the problem had been overlooked by government, law enforcement and industry.

The report said the overall cost of all forms of fraud in 2016 was £10bn to individuals and £144bn to the private sector, arising from almost 2m cyber-related fraud incidents.

The NAO's chief, Sir Amyas Morse, said: "For too long, as a low-value but high-volume crime, online fraud has been overlooked by government, law enforcement and industry. It is now the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales and demands an urgent response."

He said the Home Office, while not solely responsible for tackling the issue, was the only organisation that could oversee the system and lead change.

The Home Office's joint fraud taskforce, launched in February 2016, was a positive step "but there is still much work to be done", he said. "At this stage it is hard to judge that the response to online fraud is proportionate, efficient or effective."

In the year to 30 September 2016 there were 1.9m estimated instances of cyber fraud, or 16% of all crimes.

The report said: "Fraud is now the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales, is growing rapidly and demands an urgent response. Yet fraud is not a strategic priority for local police forces and the response from industry is uneven."

The report said one idea being considered by the banking industry to tackle online fraud was to make the security codes on the back of debit and credit cards change every hour.

"This is a positive step, as the redesign may help to stop an increase in online card fraud," the NAO said. "However, such a plan requires all card providers to participate."

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Online fraud costs public billions but is still not a police priority, says watchdog

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Police forces are not doing enough to tackle the growing threat of online fraud, a public spending watchdog has found. The National Audit Office (NAO) said the issue was "not yet a priority" for all local police forces and the problem had been overlooked by government, law enforcement and industry.

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The value of the black market industry behind crimes such as ivory smuggling, illegal logging and toxic waste dumping has jumped by 26% since 2014 to between $91bn (£62bn) and $258bn, according to an assessment by the UN and Interpol.

Environmental crime is now the world's fourth largest illicit enterprise after drug smuggling, counterfeiting and human trafficking and has outstripped the illegal trade in small arms.

The impact on the natural world has been devastating in some cases. More than a quarter of the world's elephant population have been killed for their tusks in the last decade alone, according to the joint report from the UN's environment programme (Unep) and Interpol. Efforts to stem the global crime wave have been thwarted by weak laws, ill-prepared security forces, corruption and chronic underfunding.

The report argues that new laws are needed as well as sanctions at national and international levels, the disruption of overseas tax havens, and increased crime-fighting funds.

Interpol's secretary general, Jürgen Stock, said: "Environmental crime is growing at an alarming pace. The complexity of this type of criminality requires a multi-sector response underpinned by collaboration across borders."

Unep's director, Achim Steiner, said: "The vast sums of money generated from these crimes keep sophisticated international criminal gangs in business, and fuel insecurity around the world. The world needs to come together now to take strong national and international action to bring environmental crime to an end."

The report's $91bn to $258bn figure is an estimate of the value of crime this year. Prior to the estimated 26% spike since 2014, there had been a 5-7% increase every year since 2006 in the value of felonies including wildlife poaching, smuggling, illegal logging, minerals theft and toxic waste dumping, the study says. As a result, the value of the black-market industry is now increasing at two to three times the rate of the global economy.

'Environmental crime' is a collective term to describe illegal activities harming the environment that involve illegal damage to, trade or theft of natural resources.

International agencies currently spend just $20-$30m annually on tackling the crime wave, a sum dwarfed by the revenues of organised crime networks, which often overlap with drug traffickers, terror groups and militias in war-torn states.

In Tanzania, the market price for the 3,000 elephants killed each year is five times higher than the national budget of the country's wildlife protection service.

Interpol is trying to encourage better coordination and intelligence sharing between the world's national crime agencies. But a greater focus is needed on long-term investigations that can take down crime kingpins, as well as low-level poachers and smugglers, officers say.

The agency's approach to environmental crime has evolved towards more controlled operations. These can involve the use of tracking devices on smuggled cargo, satellite surveillance of major shipping routes and analysis of commodity chain data to verify how illegally sourced products reach the market.

The high-profit, low-risk nature of environmental crime is matched by the low funds and uncertain priorities given to fighting it by many decision-takers.

"It is a spiralling problem," said Davyth Stewart an Interpol criminal intelligence officer. "Law enforcement is over-stretched. The profits made from these crimes are up to 10,000 times higher than the investments to combat them. There's a very similar disparity between the profits made by organised crime gangs and the resources available to law enforcement and prosecutors."

More investment, support and capacity building was needed to help officers who were increasingly being met by armed and violent offenders, he added.

Crimes with a lesser financial value but more immediate impact, such as firearms trafficking, routinely benefit from a greater security focus when environmental crime can have consequences just as profound, even if they are felt further down the line.

The destruction of ecosystems can spark violence and unrest as well as social conflicts, mass migrations and the disruption of human habitats and food chains.

Ibrahim Thiaw, Unep's deputy director said: "Too often, criminals target poor communities that simply can't afford to feed their families and bring them into the criminal chain. We need to snap this and create programmes that help people earn a living by protecting, conserving and sustaining the environment through either ecotourism or agriculture."

Unep has recruited celebrities including Gisele Bündchen, Yaya Touré and Neymar Jr to promote a Wild for Life campaign which aims to raise consciousness about the issue and mobilise public support.

In an opinion piece for the Guardian, Bundchen writes: "Environmental awareness is growing all over the world. But so is wildlife crime, and the struggle between those forces seeking to preserve Earth's rich biodiversity and those trying to turn it into illicit profits is just getting started."

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Value of eco crimes soars by 26% with devastating impacts on natural world

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The value of the black market industry behind crimes such as ivory smuggling, illegal logging and toxic waste dumping has jumped by 26% since 2014 to between $91bn (£62bn) and $258bn, according to an assessment by the UN and Interpol.

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Tesco has been fined £8m after it admitted polluting a river with thousands of litres of petrol.

More than 20,000 litres of fuel escaped from a tank at one of Tesco's petrol stations over a 29-hour period in Haslingden, east Lancashire, in 2014, Preston Crown Court was told.

The Environment Agency said that the supermarket's "recklessness" resulted in homes being evacuated, residents falling ill and the death of 40 fish.

The agency's investigation found that the incident resulted from Tesco's failure to address problems with part of the fuel delivery system and an inadequate alarm system.

Tesco pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches and the major contamination in the River Irwell. It has issued an apology and said it had taken steps to prevent similar fuel spills in the future.

Mark Easedale, environment manager for the Environment Agency, said the pollution had "a dramatically negative impact on the local community and environment".

"The sentencing today sends out a clear message to anyone whose recklessness causes serious pollution to the environment - we will be relentless in our investigations and take action wherever needed," he added.

County councillor Albert Atkinson, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, said: "The fact the leak was allowed to continue for more than 24 hours undoubtedly contributed to a risk of harm to people living and working nearby, as well as emergency services attending the incident."

A Tesco spokesperson said: "We sincerely regret the fuel spillage incident at our petrol station in Haslingden and we're sorry for the impact it had on the local environment, our customers and the community.

"This was a deeply unfortunate isolated incident and one for which we have taken full responsibility."

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Tesco has been fined £8m for 'recklessly' polluting a river with thousands of litres of petrol

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Tesco has been fined £8m after it admitted polluting a river with thousands of litres of petrol. More than 20,000 litres of fuel escaped from a tank at one of Tesco's petrol stations over a 29-hour period in Haslingden, east Lancashire, in 2014, Preston Crown Court was told.

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Last year was the most perilous ever for people defending their community's land, natural resources or wildlife, with new research showing that environmental defenders are being killed at the rate of almost four a week across the world.

Two hundred environmental activists, wildlife rangers and indigenous leaders trying to protect their land were killed in 2016, according to the watchdog group Global Witness - more than double the number killed five years ago.

And the frequency of killings is only increasing as 2017 ticks by, according to data provided exclusively to the Guardian, with 98 killings identified in the first five months of this year.

John Knox, UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, said: "Human rights are being jettisoned as a culture of impunity is developing.

"There is now an overwhelming incentive to wreck the environment for economic reasons. The people most at risk are people who are already marginalised and excluded from politics and judicial redress, and are dependent on the environment. The countries do not respect the rule of law. Everywhere in the world, defenders are facing threats.

"There is an epidemic now, a culture of impunity, a sense that anyone can kill environmental defenders without repercussions, eliminate anyone who stands in the way. It [comes from] mining, agribusiness, illegal logging and dam building."

Mexican indigenous leader and opponent of illegal logging Isidro Baldenegro López was killed in January.

In May, farmers in Brazil's Maranhão state attacked an indigenous settlement, hacking with machetes at the hands of their victims in another land conflict that left more than a dozen in hospital. There have also been killings of environmental defenders and attacks on others in Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and many other countries since the new year.

Most environmental defenders die in remote forests or villages affected by mining, dams, illegal logging, and agribusiness. Many of the killers are reportedly hired by corporations or state forces. Very few are ever arrested or identified.

This is why the Guardian is today launching a project, in collaboration with Global Witness, to attempt to record the deaths of everyone who dies over the next year in defence of the environment. We will be reporting from the world's last wildernesses, as well as from the most industrialised countries on the planet, on the work of environmental defenders and the assaults upon them.

Billy Kyte, campaign leader on this issue at Global Witness, said that the killings that make the list are just the tip of an epidemic of violence.

"Communities that take a stand against environmental destruction are now in the firing line of companies' private security guards, state forces and contract killers," he said. "For every land and environmental defender who is killed, many more are threatened with death, eviction and destruction of their resources.

"These are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of a systematic assault on remote and indigenous communities by state and corporate actors."

Around the world, the number and intensity of environmental conflicts is growing, say researchers. An EU-funded atlas of environmental conflict academics at 23 universities has identified more than 2,000, ranging over water, land, pollution, evictions and mining.

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Greenpeace activists block a 135km illegal road, in the Altamira national forest, Brazil. The road cuts directly through the forest and is used for illegal logging operations and deforestation inside the protected area. Photograph: Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace

"These are just the reported ones. There could be three times as many. There is much more violence now," said Cass business school researcher Bobby Banerjee who has studied resistance to global development projects for 15 years.

"The conflicts are happening worldwide now because of globalisation. Capitalism is violent and global corporations are looking to poor countries for access to land and resources. Poor countries are more corruptible and have weaker law enforcement. Companies and governments now work together to kill people," he said.

The 2016 Global Witness data shows that the industries at the heart of conflict were mining and oil, which were linked to 33 killings. Logging was in second place worldwide - with 23 deaths, up from 15 the previous year - followed by agriculture. That ranking could change. In the first five months of this year, the most striking trend is that for the first time agribusiness is rivalling mining as the deadliest sector, with 22 deaths worldwide - just one short of the total for the whole of last year.

The situation in Colombia in particular has gone from bad to worse in 2017. Brazil and the Philippines are also on course to hit new highs and indigenous groups continue to suffer disproportionately.

In terms of country rankings, in 2016 Brazil was once again the deadliest country in absolute terms with 49 killings, many of them in the Amazon rainforest. Timber production was implicated in 16 of those cases as the country's deforestation rate surged by 29%.

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The Amazon rain forest bordered by deforested land. Photograph: Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

More broadly, Latin America remained the most dangerous region for anyone wanting to protect rivers, forests, mountains and oceans, accounting for 60 of the global total of killings of environmental defenders even though it is home to less than a tenth of the world's population.

With major economic interests at stake, state security forces were behind at least 43 killings globally - 33 by the police and 10 by the military - while private actors such as security guards and hitmen were responsible for 52 deaths.

The human cost of all this is terrible, said Laura Cáceres, one of the daughters of Honduran indigenous Lenca leader Berta Cáceres, who was murdered in 2016 after resisting the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque river.

Now in exile following death threats, Cáceres was recently in Oxford, in the UK, at a conference organised by Not1More (N1M), a group founded in 2016 in response to the violence facing environmental defenders.

"Berta Cáceres was a hindrance to the system," she said. "[Honduras] is so battered; 30% of the land has been granted to transnational corporations. Companies are taking over ancestral territories. Forests are being privatised. My mother was passionate about her land, her roots, and she was horrified by the sinister and violent forms with which imperialism acts."

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People protest against violence and insecurity and demand justice over the murder of Honduran indigenous environmental activist, Berta Cáceres. Photograph: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images

Shortly after the conference the Guardian reported that another of Cáceres' children, Berta Zúñiga had survived an armed attack soon after being named leader of the indigenous rights organisation formerly led by her mother.

Defenders frequently say they get no help from government, indeed corrupt governments are often implicated in the violence.

One west African anti-illegal logging activist, who asked not to named for fear of reprisals, said: "I am subject to pressure and threats. Millions [of dollars] are coming out of the forests and yet people have nothing - no schools, no health centres. Money is not going to the state but to private people. We are working without resources.

"My family has been threatened with death. We have had anonymous calls. I keep working with the help of my colleagues. We gave information to the UN, and asked for help. We got nowhere. We could be killed any moment."

Wildlife defenders are also being increasingly targeted. More than 800 park rangers have been killed by commercial poachers and armed militia groups in the past 10 years, according to US group Global Conservation.

"Rangers face high levels of violence and are being [killed] at an alarming pace," says Sean Willmore, president of the International Ranger Federation. "Almost 60% of those killed in 2016 were from Asia, with the majority from India."

US writer Olesia Plokhii, who witnessed the murder of Cambodian illegal logging activist Chut Wutty in 2012, wrote in the Ecologist last month: "Wutty ran his own environmental organisation, had Western financial backers, the support of high-ranking Cambodian military officials, hundreds of local supporters who watched out for him and tools - multiple cell phones, a GPS tracker. He was still murdered.

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Cambodian environmental activist Chut Wutty who was killed in 2012. Photograph: CCHR/EPA

"Much less organised and prepared defenders, people who might be forced unexpectedly into protecting their lands due to evictions or enormous infrastructure developments, are up against the same violence."

The 2016 Global Witness report also notes that environmental protest is being clamped down on across the board - even in the richest countries - citing the case of the Standing Rock campaign against the construction of an oil pipeline under Lake Oahe in the US, and noting North Dakota legislators only narrowly defeated a bill that would have allowed drivers to run over and kill protesters without being jailed.

N1M co-founder Fran Lambrick told the Guardian: "Frontline environmental defenders are critical in fighting climate change, protecting our natural resources and upholding human rights and cultural identity. Yet they face violent reprisals, threats and criminalisation."

"We are defenders of life," said Laura Cáceres. "We are willing to do anything to allow life to continue. We don't want to lose our lives and lose our mamas and families. But we assume that risk. If they can murder someone with high recognition like my mother Berta, then they can murder anyone."

* You can read more about the Guardian and Global Witness' year-long collaboration, The defenders, here. If you have ideas for this project, or if you have specialist knowledge and would like to contribute, please email defenders@theguardian.com

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Environmental defenders being killed in record numbers globally, new research reveals

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Last year was the most perilous ever for people defending their community's land, natural resources or wildlife, with new research showing that environmental defenders are being killed at the rate of almost four a week across the world.

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Even members of Britain's highest-paid 1% don't feel particularly well-off, according to a new study by the London School of Economics - because of comparisons they make with the 0.1% super-rich with whom they rub shoulders.

"Due to the vast absolute difference among the 1%, top income earners experience 'relative disadvantage'," the report, A Relational Analysis of Top Incomes and Wealth, states. "They are disadvantaged compared to others at the top, while being aware of their advantage compared to the general population."

The study's interviewees included five people with fortunes of more than £100m, and three people on the Sunday Times Rich List.

A financial professional in the City of London said she did not feel her income was high compared with others working in finance in the capital - and that she would consider high income to be those "earning millions".

"That's partly because I see a lot of people who I have contact with on a daily basis who do [earn millions]," she said. "However, I'm in London, in an environment [where many people have high incomes] ... if I go back to where I grew up, then I'm definitely a high earner."

The top 1% in Britain are defined as those earning more than £162,000 before tax, according to HMRC's latest Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI). The average income for the top 1% in the UK in 2010 was approximately £267,000 a year before tax, according to the 2016 World Wealth and Income Database, while the average earnings of the top 0.1% was £990,000.

A senior investment banker, who earns hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, said he "just doesn't feel particularly wealthy" compared with other parents at his children's private school who, he said, were sitting on £100m-plus family fortunes.

"I feel like I'm fairly well off and I earn multiples of the hundred thousands," the banker told a researcher from the LSE's International Inequalities Institute. "But I feel very poor in the context of the classmates [of my children] ... Their parents can spend a lot more time with them, because none of them really work, or some of them work but it's working on their own terms: they might run a hedge fund but they can take the kids to school.

I feel very poor in the context of the classmates [of my kids] ... I'd say nine or 10 of their​ parents have over £100m

Senior investment banker

"I'd say nine or 10 of their classmates' parents have over £100m," he added. "That to me feels wealthy, but earning a hundred thousand just doesn't feel particularly wealthy."

The unnamed investment banker said earning a few hundred thousand "does not feel that great". He said it would be better to define the rich in terms of assets rather than earnings. "I think that's where we see the kind of big change ... there are a lot more people within London who have £100m [in assets]."

According to the report, written by Katharina Hecht, a PhD researcher in the LSE's Department of Sociology, members of the top 1% are often working for the 0.1%, and regular exposure to their lives and lifestyle can create feelings of disadvantage and aspiration to earn more. "While recognising their advantage compared to the general population, they experience disadvantage when 'looking up'," Hecht writes.

"In their daily lives, [the top 1%] are surrounded by vast absolute income inequality, because the differences between top income earners are much higher than those between individuals situated in the middle of the distribution."

The investment banker said £100m was a lot of money - but "not a ridiculous amount of money". He told the researcher he was "fairly confident" that a driven and passionate individual could "start from zero and get to £100m within 20 years".

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The LSE report suggests rich people's experiences of relative disadvantage might 'drive economic inequality at the top'. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters

Many of the 30 anonymous rich people interviewed for the study were keen to stress they do not begrudge those who are doing better; in particular, they admire entrepreneurs. Hard work is seen as key for achieving high earnings, and economic disadvantage was talked about as something that could be overcome through aspiration.

One hedge fund manager said he was able to achieve huge earnings because he had "unique pricing power" similar to professional footballers.

No one could describe what I earn as being fair. It's just the market

Hedge fund manager

"If you're someone like Wayne Rooney, you can go to Manchester United and say 'pay me £200,000 a week or I'm gonna go to somewhere else' and Man Utd just say 'yeah fine' because he's got unique pricing power," he said. "If you are a successful hedge fund manager, if you make money for your clients, you also have unique pricing power because of the fees that we receive."

Hedge fund managers typically collect a management fee of 2% of all their funds under management, and 20% of the profits made on the investments. The world's most economically successful hedge fund managers made $1.7bn (£1.3bn) in 2015.

However, the hedge fund manager interviewed said it would be "ridiculous" to say he deserved his huge income. "I can't spend [all of my multimillion-pound income]. I mean, what can I do: buy some pictures? Yeah, but I already have pictures all over my house, so what should I do?

"No one could describe what I earn, or what people in my company earn, as being fair. It's just the market; it's literally just a pure Malthusian sort of outcome in terms of what the market can bear. Is it fair? No, it's not fair and so therefore it should be taxed, and I should pay much higher levels of tax.

"But I think I'm a minority of one amongst hedge fund managers [laughs] ... I am sure they would say they all deserve it - but how can you say you deserve it? It's ridiculous!"

The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has said Labour would increase taxes on high earners to make "the rich pay their share". He defined the rich as those earning more than £70,000. According to the SPI data, £70,000 a year equates to the top 5% of UK incomes.

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A majority of those interviewed disagreed with the statement that 'the government should reduce income differences'. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

Another hedge fund manager, who told the researcher he would "really like a private jet but can't afford one", said it would be "better for the country" if he got richer because he pays a lot in tax.

However, one City of London worker included in the study said she found it hard to reconcile how much she was paid compared with teachers, firefighters, nurses and doctors, who "clearly do something that's much more important". She said her salary could cover the annual pay of seven teachers: "Why do these people get paid so little, and people like me get paid so much? Is it right? I certainly don't think I'm worth £140,000; that's the truth."

Why do some people get paid so little, and people like me get so much? I certainly don't think I'm worth £140,000

City worker

The LSE study found that a majority of the participants believed market-determined incomes were a fair reflection of talent and economic contribution. Of these participants, two-thirds disagreed with the survey statement that "the government should reduce income differences".

But a significant minority (a third of the study's participants) questioned the view that market-determined incomes are necessarily fair, and 80% of this group agreed with the statement that income differences should be reduced.

In the report, Hecht suggests rich people's experiences of relative disadvantage might "drive economic inequality at the top, because those at the very top of the economic hierarchy are [viewed] as being the 'best'. Inequality may ultimately be reproduced because [the idea that market incomes reflect someone's talent and contribution] turns experiences of relative disadvantage into a driver to 'do better'."

Chief executives of FTSE-100 companies now earn, on average, 386 times more than workers on the national living wage, according to an analysis published by the Equality Trust, which is campaigning for new government rules to expose pay gaps.

The charity used annual reports to calculate that chief executives of FTSE-100 companies pocket an average of £5.3m each year, compared with £13,662 for someone on the national living wage of £7.20 an hour.

However, the pay of chief executives is likely to be eclipsed by those working in hedge funds, private equity and the partners of accountancy and law firms. As private companies or partnerships, they are not required to publish data on earnings.

The world's top 25 hedge fund managers earned $13bn in 2015 (the latest year available) - more than the entire economies of Namibia, the Bahamas or Nicaragua. Sir Chris Hohn, the billionaire founder of a hedge fund, the Children's Investment Fund, was the highest-earning British fund manager, taking home $300m, according to research by Institutional Investor's Alpha magazine.
* This article was updated on 4 May to take account of HMRC's latest Survey of Personal Incomes. This states that the top 1% in Britain are defined as those earning more than £162,000 before tax, rather than £140,000. Are you a member of the 1%? If you'd like to be interviewed anonymously about your views on income, wealth and inequality, email us at inequality.project@theguardian.com

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Voices of the 1%: how do Britain's highest earners feel about their income?

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Even members of Britain's highest-paid 1% don't feel particularly well-off, according to a new study by the London School of Economics - because of comparisons they make with the 0.1% super-rich with whom they rub shoulders. "Due to the vast absolute difference among the 1%, top income earners experience 'relative disadvantage'," the report, A Relational Analysis of Top Incomes and Wealth, states.

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An advertising agency PA who spent more than £33,000 on designer clothes, hotels and taxi rides using company credit cards could be spared a jail sentence after a judge said he "hates" sending women to prison.

Sophie Franklin, 30, went on lavish sprees over two years, abusing her role at the Bermondsey-based Circle Square Agency to settle phone bills, pay for travel and go shopping with friends.

The "wholesale fraud", carried out between January 2014 and February last year, was spotted when Franklin left to join another advertising agency.

Judge Owen Davies heard that Franklin has since paid back £32,000 to Circle Square, and he gave her another five months to show she has done her best to atone for her crime.

"I hate sending to prison women who have not been to prison before and who have been convicted for the first time", he told her. "This is not an uncommon offence and it should not be possible to buy yourself out of an offence."

But he said suspending the prison sentence was justified if Franklin shows she has "mitigated the harm" to her former employers.

Franklin wiped away tears in the dock at Inner London crown court as the judge adjourned sentencing until May 17, adding: "If I am satisfied you have done your best, I will suspend the prison sentence."

The court heard that Franklin, of Basildon, racked up more than £7,000 in taxi fares alone, with the total fraud amounting to £33,136.

She now works for advertising agency FCB Inferno in Covent Garden as a senior talent partner, and told the court her new employers knew about the case and were supporting her.

However, a spokesman for FCB Inferno said: "FCB Inferno would like it on record that her fraud conviction only came to light today and that internal investigations are now underway. Ms Franklin has been suspended pending the outcome."

Franklin pleaded guilty to fraud and was freed on bail until the final sentencing hearing.

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'I hate sending women to prison', says judge in fraudster PA case

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An advertising agency PA who spent more than £33,000 on designer clothes, hotels and taxi rides using company credit cards could be spared a jail sentence after a judge said he "hates" sending women to prison.

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An Oxford University student who stabbed her boyfriend with a bread knife may not go to jail because it could damage her prospects of a medical career, a court has heard.

Aspiring heart surgeon Lavinia Woodward, 24, punched and stabbed her boyfriend during an alcohol-and-drug-fuelled row at Christ Church College. She admitted unlawfully wounding the Cambridge University student, who she met on the dating app Tinder.

Judge Ian Pringle QC, sitting at Oxford crown court, said he would take an "exceptional" course and defer sentence for four months, hinting that Woodward will not be jailed because of her talent. "It seems to me that if this was a one-off, a complete one-off, to prevent this extraordinary able young lady from not following her long-held desire to enter the profession she wishes to would be a sentence which would be too severe," he said.

"What you did will never, I know, leave you, but it was pretty awful, and normally it would attract a custodial sentence, whether it is immediate or suspended," he said.

Woodward, who lives in Milan, Italy, with her mother, stabbed her then-boyfriend in the leg after punching him in the face. She then hurled a laptop, glass and jam jar at him during the attack on 30 September last year, the court heard. She was in court to hear the judge's comments.

The court was told that Christ Church would allow her to return in October because she "is that bright" and has had articles published in medical journals.

Mitigating, James Sturman QC said his client's dreams of becoming a surgeon were "almost impossible" as her conviction would have to be disclosed. She had had a very troubled life and was abused by a previous boyfriend, he said.

Woodward will be sentenced on 25 September. She was given a restraining order and told to stay drug-free and not to reoffend.

A spokesman for Christ Church said: "I'm afraid that Christ Church does not comment on the circumstances of individual students."

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Student who stabbed boyfriend may avoid jail as it would 'damage her career'

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An Oxford University student who stabbed her boyfriend with a bread knife may not go to jail because it could damage her prospects of a medical career, a court has heard. Aspiring heart surgeon Lavinia Woodward, 24, punched and stabbed her boyfriend during an alcohol-and-drug-fuelled row at Christ Church College.

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Model let off for stealing £1,000 worth of designer goods as she's a woman of 'considerable talents' https://t.co/Eqo5wD5D1Y pic.twitter.com/L2djOpzBeg
— The Independent (@Independent) August 4, 2017

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Natalie Saul raided technology firm Idio's accounts to feed her addiction

The mother-of-one submitted more than 400 fake invoices to get the cash

But Saul was given a two-year suspended sentence and 250 hours unpaid work

Judge Newman said she was on the brink of giving her a sentence of three years and four months, before being persuaded she was unfit for prison

An accountant who stole £350,000 from her employers walked free after a judge said she would not fit in in prison.

Natalie Saul, 37, from Wandsworth, south London raided technology firm Idio's accounts to feed her gambling addiction and blew more than £250,000 playing online poker.

The mother-of-one submitted more than 400 fake invoices to get the cash from the software company between March 2015 and December 2016.

But Saul was given a two-year suspended sentence and 250 hours unpaid work by Judge Catherine Newman, who admitted her sentence was 'wholly exceptional' and fell outside sentencing guidelines.

She told Southwark Crown Court Saul was 'not the general stuff of which the prison population is made'.

The judge added: 'I'm taking a considerable risk that the Crown will think it lenient and appeal, but it's a risk I'm willing to take.'

Lucie Daniels, defending Saul, had argued her client was 'shaken' by the loss of her grandmother in 2013 and was a committed charity worker.

'This offending is so out of character, she has worked hard and paid her taxes and been a responsible citizen,' said Ms Daniels.

Yet her charitable efforts could not mitigate the loss to Idio, who hemorrhaged a total of £348,439 to her gambling addiction.

Saul's deception relied on her privileged role as office manager for the firm. She created fake invoices to the company which she sent to herself.

She then altered the details to her own bank account, paid herself the cash, and switched the bank details back to avoid detection.

Finally she marked the invoices as paid, using her knowledge of the company auditing system to escape attention.

The fraudster was caught when she went on maternity leave in December 2016 and a new CFO took over and spotted hundreds of fake invoices.

It was only after she was challenged by the company that she confessed her crimes, and admitted one count of fraud at Westminster Magistrates Court on July 13.

Judge Newman said she was on the brink of giving her a sentence of three years and four months, before being persuaded she was unfit for prison.

'I'm not sending a lady to jail'

'You abused your position of control over your employers bank account,' said the judge.

'You devised and created over 400 accounts for stealing money by a fraud using a sophisticated method which involved some planning.

'Each account required six steps. First you raised fake invoices to the company account system.

'Secondly you used knowledge of auditing to reduce risk of detection. You amended the bank details of the recipient to your own bank account.

'You paid the invoices to yourself. Then you changed the bank details back to the original supplier.

'Finally you marked the invoices as paid. You did this for over a year. It has caused considerable harm to your employer which could ill afford to lose such a substantial sum, but thankfully survived.

'Your grandmother's death rocked the stability of your hitherto good citizenship. You had a steady partner who had no idea of your gambling addiction and stands by you.

'I'm prepared to take the wholly exceptional course of reducing your sentence and suspend it.'

Saul burst into tears as Judge Newman told her the sentence was suspended.

Saul was given a two-year suspended sentence and 250 hours community order for one count of fraud by abuse of position.

She was ordered to pay just £360 costs, a little over £10 for every £1000 she stole from her company.

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Accountant,37, stole £350,000 from firm to fund her gambling addiction

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Natalie Saul raided technology firm Idio's accounts to feed her addiction The mother-of-one submitted more than 400 fake invoices to get the cash But Saul was given a two-year suspended sentence and 250 hours unpaid work Judge Newman said she was on the brink of giving her a sentence of three years and four months, before being persuaded she was unfit for prison An accountant who stole £350,000 from her employers walked free after a judge said she would not fit in in prison.

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Out of more than 500 arraignments observed in Manhattan and Brooklyn courts between last October and March of this year, about 88% involved black or Hispanic defendants arrested for low-level Broken Windows offenses like disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana, or an open container, according to a report issued Friday by the Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP). In one case, a black man was sentenced to 12 days on Rikers for farebeating. In another, a mentally ill man was sentenced to 60 days on Rikers for allegedly stealing $3.00 in change from a parked car with an open door.

In a city committed to cracking down on petty crimes, PROP's latest findings are not revelatory. PROP has conducted months-long surveys of NYC arraignments four times since 2014, and of the total 1,880 cases seen, 91% have been brought against people of color. According to NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services data, 87% of NYPD misdemeanor arrests in the first nine months of last year involved people of color.

For this latest report [ PDF], PROP head Robert Gangis homed in on the fact that out of 498 cases, 479, or 96.2% of them, resulted in the defendant walking out of the courtroom. During two court visits where PROP was able to keep time, the average amount of time spent on each case was less than three minutes. "The point we're making is that nobody considers these people dangerous or predatory," Gangis said. "In many cases the arrests are frivolous and innocuous, and many of the defendants are homeless or mentally ill. They can't push back politically."

Gangis hashes this up in part to the department's reliance on quotas, or a minimum number of mandatory stops per officer. A report filed in February by attorney Peter Zimroth, the federal monitor tasked with assessing the NYPD's use of stop-and-frisks, found that while officers now feel less pressure to reach quotas, some are still evaluated in part by the number of stops they make.

The same report found that of 600 street stops documented over the course of three months in 2015, almost a third were unconstitutional, lacking reasonable suspicion for the stop.

In an effort to humanize these statistics, PROP conferred with several defendants and their attorneys about the circumstances of their arrests. All of the stories below allegedly occurred under de Blasio's tenure, and Gangi notes that he works hard to ensure that they are credible.

Police officers in Manhattan arrested a homeless man late at night on the subway on the charge of, as the court officer read out loud, "occupying multiple seats on the subway." The judged issued an ACD & let the man walk out of the court room. A PROP representative followed him out & tried to talk with him. Unsteady on his feet, the man said apologetically that he could barely stand up & that he was withdrawing from his alcohol habit. When asked where he was going & where would he stay, the man said that he was going to "ride the trains."
Police officers arrested a young man for dancing on the subway, the official charge being "unlawful solicitation." The youth explained that the NYPD also arrested a friend that danced with him on the train -- the officers released the friend on a ACD, but held the young man that we spoke with because he had an outstanding warrant for drinking a beer in front of his building. He also related that the police have arrested him several times for subway dancing & that the judge always releases him with an ACD.

Police officers arrested a homeless woman for the second time in a week for sleeping in the machine room of an apartment building where the janitorial staff had befriended her & let her use the unoccupied room. She was an addict who was afraid to stay at a shelter & who had been trying unsuccessfully to find a rehab program that would help her. The NYPD provided her with no assistance to meet either need.

Police officers arrested a black man for smoking in an unauthorized space. He was descending stairs to a subway & threw out his cigarette butt on a step on the way down. When he reached the station, 2 officers stopped him, requested his ID which he gave them, and charged him with the smoking violation. After running a check on him, they cuffed and arrested him and brought him to the local precinct in Harlem. An officer there explained that he was arrested as a "transit recidivist" because of a previous subway- related offense. The offense was a farebeating infraction from 1986, 29 years ago when he was a teenager and was charged with a fine that he paid. Initially the police confined the man in a holding cell with 10 or 11 African-American & Latino men who officers had arrested on charges like "sleeping on the subway" & "walking between 2 subway cars." The man was locked up for 2 days before appearing at arraignment before a judge who sentenced him to time served & let him walk out of the courtroom.

Police in Brooklyn gave an open alcohol container summons to a woman of color who was sitting on a stoop with 4 white friends. Although she was not holding the beer can, the police singled her out, asking only her for an ID & ticketing only her.

Officers arrested a mentally ill man who was living in a homeless shelter for stealing $3.00 in change from a car whose door was open. The car's owner had called the police when he saw the man inside the car because he thought the man was trying to steal the vehicle. By the time the police arrived, he did not want to press charges, but it was too late. As a painful follow up, the court handed down a harsh penalty: 60 days on Rikers Island.

Two officers pulled over a Bronx man in his car, but apparently did not know why. The man left his phone video camera on while the police put him in their cruiser. "I don't even know why we pulled him over", one officer says. "Just the (unintelligible) cocaine test," the other officer replies. "That's what you put," the first officer laughs. "That's how you write the summons." The only thing that the officers found in the car was an uneaten cookie. "I felt as though they pulled me over & abused me for sport," the man said.

Police officers arrested an African-American man in Brooklyn on the charge of walking an unleashed dog. The man was standing in front of his building with his 2 dogs, one on a leash standing next to him and the other in his arms. The officers justified their arrest on the fact that the pet that the man was holding did not have a leash attached.

In March, the NYPD announced that it would issue summonses instead of making arrests for most low-level offenses like open containers and public urination- but in Manhattan only. And a new series of bills would give police officers the discretion to steer certain low-level broken windows offenses like drinking in public, littering, and public urination to civil court, rather than criminal court. Some advocates object that it still empowers the NYPD to stop and ID citizens for those same offenses.

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More "Broken Windows" Horror Stories From De Blasio's NYPD

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Out of more than 500 arraignments observed in Manhattan and Brooklyn courts between last October and March of this year, about 88% involved black or Hispanic defendants arrested for low-level Broken Windows offenses like disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana, or an open container, according to a report issued Friday by the Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP).

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Police battling a surge in young thieves using mopeds to swipe phones from their victims are considering tougher tactics as they claimed one gang carried out 30 robberies in an hour.

A police chief told the Guardian that chasing suspects could be considered, with more covert officers and cars ready to snatch or chase alleged offenders. In one case over the weekend officers pulled a suspect off their bike.

The increase in scooter robberies has hit parts of London, with other parts of Britain also reporting cases. Officers are concerned scooter gangs may increasingly be prepared to use or threaten violence.

In one incident a tourist on Park Lane was left with a broken leg after being knocked to the ground by a gang on scooters who stole his watch.

Thieves on mopeds were seen brandishing hammers as they rode round Regent Street last Friday.

Police believe the growth in the thefts could be driven by an increase in the value of spare mobile phone parts, or criminals getting better at bypassing the security of stolen phones.

Chief Supt Peter Ayling, in charge of policing in Westminster, one of the worst affected areas in London, said: "Phones have become more attractive to steal but it is not clear yet exactly why.

"Offenders are mobile, opportunistic and strike quickly. They choose crowded spaces, but rarely offer violence or use weapons."

The mopeds or scooters allow the thieves to quickly mount pavements, in one case allegedly weaving in and out of tables, to snatch phones from people. They can strike with such speed that victims barely react. Usually there are two people on the moped, one to drive and one to snatch, with number plates missing or covered on the stolen mopeds.

Last Thursday in the Westminster area, a scooter gang allegedly carried out 30 robberies between 12 and 1pm, allegedly rampaging through the West End of central London.

Police officers need special permission to give chase because of the risk that the young thieves may suffer serious injury, or a member of the public will be hurt by them, as the suspects try to evade capture.

Ayling said: "With bikes there is an increased risk to riders should police pursue. Often they are so reckless in their actions it could expose the public to danger. For that reason the tactics are informed by the standard of driving of the suspect, time of day and apparent risk to all involved."

Police are deploying more covert officers on foot and unmarked vehicles with highly trained drivers to give chase if commanders decide it can be done safely.

In one case on Oxford Street on Saturday, covert officers saw a suspect and pulled him off his moped before he could strike on one of Britain's biggest shopping streets. Ayling said: "It's unusual to get that close and for the bike to be that slow or stopped.

"It is a use of force, and officers have to justify that. It shows officers are prepared to put themselves in danger where there is an opportunity to catch a suspect."

Police chiefs face a dilemma. A growth in cameras on phones means terrifying pictures of the moped riding thieves have hit the media, exacerbating public concern.

Some officers believe the danger posed may justify tougher tactics and it is claimed the scooter gangs feel a sense of impunity because police are reluctant to chase them at high speed amid fears of injury or death.

But the crimes are relatively low level and a chase leading to a death of a young suspect, or bystander, could lead to criticism of the police and ructions in relations with communities.

Behind the surge in scooter gangs are forces linked to changing criminal networks and technology. Ayling said police are hunting down the handling networks profiting from the spare parts from mobile phones or making money from the whole handsets. Police are talking to moped makers about making them harder to steal.

Police also want people to know that robbers believe phones are valuable on the black market again, turning on its head the assumption that boosted security has made smartphones near worthless once stolen. A large number of robberies happen when victims are engrossed in their mobile phones, and less aware of what is happening around them.

Ayling said police are making progress and in his area four of the 12 scooter robber targets have been arrested. There is evidence scooter gangs are working together, swapping bikes to help avoid CCTV and detection by officers before they strike.

Robberies by scooter gangs are now one of the highest priorities for the Met, which is also dealing with rising knife and gun crime, with a severe terrorist threat also eating up resources.

Police said on Tuesday three more youths aged 15, 16 and 18 have been charged over moped-enabled thefts in Westminster last Thursday. A 17-year-old had already been charged with conspiracy to rob.

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Police in London consider tougher tactics against moped gangs

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Police battling a surge in young thieves using mopeds to swipe phones from their victims are considering tougher tactics as they claimed one gang carried out 30 robberies in an hour. A police chief told the Guardian that chasing suspects could be considered, with more covert officers and cars ready to snatch or chase alleged offenders.

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Police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire have concluded there are "reasonable grounds" to suspect the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and the council's tenant management organisation (TMO) may have committed corporate manslaughter.

Chiefs from both organisations will be formally interviewed by officers as part of the criminal investigation into the tragedy that claimed at least 80 lives.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed to The Independent it had updated those affected by the fire today.

A statement circulated to those involved said an "initial assessment" of seized material and witness statements had allowed police to conclude that each organisation may have committed the offence.

Both organisations will be questioned under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

"We have seized a huge amount of material and taken a large number of witness statements," the letter to those affected by the disaster said.

"After an initial assessment of that information, the officer leading the investigation has today notified Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Kensington and Chelsea TMO that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that each organisation may have committed the offence of corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

"In due course, a senior representative fo each corporation will be formally interviewed by police in relation to the potential offence."

It was unclear which senior figures will be interviewed by police and the legislation does not allow for the arrest of any individual.

A Met Police spokesperson told The Independent: "This is a complex and far reaching investigation that by its very nature will take a considerable time to complete.

"The Met has made a commitment to the families who lost loved ones in the fire and survivors that they will be kept updated, as far as we possibly can, as the investigation continues.

"As is routine, we will not give a running commentary on this investigation."

Samia Badani, residents association chair for Bramley House - a block that overlooks the tower - told The Independent the move was a positive step forward for the community.

"I'm very pleased, I think over the years we have had a very good relationship with local police and the relationship with the council is the opposite," she said.

"We are so bruised in the community that we needed some reassurances so it's a step forward."

It comes after a number of stakeholders from both RBKC and the TMO resigned in the wake of the tragedy over accusations they ignored a catalogue of warnings over fire safety.

The council's chief executive Nicholas Holgate was the first to step down in the aftermath over the borough's handling of the fire.

"Despite my wish to have continued, in very challenging circumstances, to lead on the executive responsibilities of the council, I have decided that it is better to step down from my role, once an appropriate successor has been appointed," he said in a statement on 21 June.

A week later, TMO leader Robert Black stepped aside to "concentrate on assisting with the investigation and inquiry", followed by RBKC leader Nick Paget-Brown and deputy leader Rock Feilding-Mellen just hours later.

Council leader Elizabeth Campbell said she would fully support the Met's investigation.

"Our residents deserve answers about the Grenfell Tower fire and the police investigation will provide these. We fully support the Metropolitan Police investigation and we will cooperate in every way we can," she said.

"It would not be appropriate to comment further on matters subject to the police investigation."

The news comes after family and friends of five of those killed in the blaze, including two child victims, gathered to remember their loved ones.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, joined a congregation in north Kensington, little more than half a mile from the scene of the disaster.

The lives of artist Khadija Saye, her mother Mary Mendy, Berkti Haftom and her 12-year-old son Beruk, as well as five-year-old Isaac Paulos were being celebrated at the ecumenical service in St Helen's Church.

The service opened with a recording of Michael Jackson's "Heal The World", and the Gospel For Grenfell choir later sang a number of well-known songs including "Something Inside So Strong".

Ms Saye's cousin Adelaide Mendy recalled the fear and panic on the night of the fire, and her desperate hope that her relatives would not be caught up in it.

She told those gathered: "I felt an excruciating and an almost unbearable pain. I felt powerless at the thought that there was nothing else that I could have done."

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Grenfell police have 'reasonable grounds' to suspect Kensington council committed corporate manslaughter

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Police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire have concluded there are "reasonable grounds" to suspect the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and the council's tenant management organisation (TMO) may have committed corporate manslaughter. Chiefs from both organisations will be formally interviewed by officers as part of the criminal investigation into the tragedy that claimed at least 80 lives.

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David Cameron was confronted in the Commons on Wednesday with figures showing that thousands more government inspectors are employed to tackle benefits fraud than deal with tax evasion by the wealthiest UK residents.

Angus Robertson, the Scottish National party's leader in Westminster, asked the prime minister why 3,250 Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff have been assigned to investigate welfare fraud, while 300 specialise in dealing with the rich.

"Surely we should care equally about people abusing the tax system and those abusing the benefit system?" Robertson asked during prime minister's questions. "Why has this government had ten times more staff dealing often with the poorest in society abusing benefits than with the super-rich evading their taxes?"

In fact the government confirmed on Wednesday that the ranks of DWP benefits investigators have swelled to 3,700 - a higher number than the one quoted by Robertson, and up from 2,600 in February last year.

That compares with 700 people who work at HM Revenue and Customs in the two units whose job it is to investigate the wealthiest 500,000 people living in the UK.

David Cameron was jeered when he admitted the figures cited by Robertson would need to be examined, but retorted "they sound to me entirely bogus". He added: "The predominant job of the DWP is to make sure that people receive their benefits. The predominant job of HMRC is to make sure people pay their taxes".

Benefits fraud costs the government £1.3bn a year, according to official statistics, while the gap between tax owed and tax paid is put at £34bn a year by officials.

MPs on the public accounts committee said this figure fails to take into account the losses to aggressive tax avoidance schemes of the kind previously criticised by the prime minister. Labour puts the tax gap at £120bn. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has claimed much of the missing revenue could be collected if HMRC had more funding.

However, the government says it is spending an extra £1.3bn on the HMRC, allowing it to acquire more data and invest in more technology and tools. A further £800m is to be spent on more expert analysts and on expanding compliance and fraud investigation teams to tackle tax dodgers more robustly.

A spokesman for HMRC said that it had a total of 26,000 investigators and added that it was "absurd" to regard tax collectors focused on the richest Britons as working in isolation from the department's thousands of investigators, lawyers and other experts.

"The suggestion that only 300 HMRC people are working against evasion by the wealthy is plain wrong. We have over 26,000 people working right across the range of our enforcement and compliance business focused on stopping tax evasion, avoidance and fraud, day in, day out. The dedicated units referred to are important elements of that work but are far from the sum total."

Jeremy Corbyn opened prime minister's questions by attacking the Conservative record on tax, with all six of his questions used to highlight issues raised by the Panama Papers, a leak of 11.5m documents published last week by the Guardian and other media partners around the world. "The number of people out there collecting taxes is important," said the Labour leader.

HMRC's "affluent unit", launched in October 2011, now employs 320 investigators, focusing on individuals with assets of more than £1m and income of more than £150,000 a year.

The tax office's "high net worth" unit, which has a further 400 investigators , focuses on the estimated 6,200 UK residents worth more than £20m in assets.

Set up under Labour in 2009, the high net worth division advertised its arrival with welcome letters setting out details of how it aimed to provide an "enhanced relationship" with its "customers".

Its role, according to HMRC's website, is to "build relationships to better understand these customers and make it easier for them to pay the right amount of tax," by providing "a single point of contact and a holistic approach to their tax affairs".

Based on the Australian model, which was said to have raised large sums in additional revenues, the high net worth unit brought in an additional £414m last year, HMRC claims, taking the total since it was created to well over £1bn.

Supporters describe the approach as friendly, but with a "sting in the tail", while critics claim that the collaborative tone is simply a reflection of the fact that for the super-rich, the amount of tax paid has become to some extent a matter of personal choice.

John Caudwell, the billionaire founder of retailer Phones4U, described the UK tax system last week as "open to be abused". Reacting to the Panama Papers, Caudwell said the tax rules were "a little bit vague" and there were "grey areas" between acceptable tax reduction and aggressive avoidance.

"What we need is very, very clear guidance from the government as to what tax avoidance will not be tolerated," he told BBC radio. "You almost need a list of activity that is acceptable like ISAs and everything else being very heavily penalised for incorrect behaviour."

HMRC has slashed its headcount by half in the decade since the reorganisation that replaced the Inland Revenue, and now employs 56,000 people. With extra government funding from the Summer Budget 2015, HMRC added that it was acquiring more data, investing in more technology and tools, and spending £800m in recruiting more expert analysts.

* This article was amended on 14 April 2016. An earlier version referred to "department of work and pensions (DWP) staff".

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Benefit fraud or tax evasion: row over the Tories' targets

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David Cameron was confronted in the Commons on Wednesday with figures showing that thousands more government inspectors are employed to tackle benefits fraud than deal with tax evasion by the wealthiest UK residents.

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Having spent a whole day at an event talking about the NHS yesterday I think it appropriate to summarise what I learnt. What follows is not scientific. It cannot be complete. It is my impression from a day of discussion. And it is, of course, biased by my own preconceptions....

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Marxist criminologists see power being held by the Bourgeoisie and laws are a reflection of Bourgeois ideol ogy . The legal system (lawyers, judges and the courts) and the police all serve the interests of the Bourgeoisie. These institutions are used to control the masses, prevent revolution and keep people in a state of false consciousness.

For the purposes of A2 Sociology, the Marxist perspective on crime may be summarised into four key points:

1. Capitalism is Crimogenic -This means that the Capitalist system encourages criminal behaviour.

2. The Law is made by the Capitalist elite and tends to work in their interests.

3. A ll classes, not just the working classes commit crime, and the crimes of the Capitalist class are more costly than street crime.

4. T he state practices Selective Law Enforcement - The Criminal Justice system mainly concerns itself with policing and punishing the marginalised, not the wealthy, and this performs ideological functions for the elite classes.

Key Sociologists associated with this perspective are William Chambliss (1978) and Laureen Snider (1993). Examples of more contemporary theorists include Professors Tombs and Whyte (See later).

Read the following two pages and summarise the four key points in your own words under four headings.

Many Marxists see crime as a natural 'outgrowth' of the capitalist system. The Capitalist system can be said to be crimogenic in three major ways -
The first reason that Capitalism is Crimogenic is because it encourages individuals to pursue self-interest before everything else.
Marxist Sociologist David Gordon says that Capitalist societies are 'dog eat dog societies' in which each individual company and each individual is encouraged to look out for their own interests before the interests of others, before the interests of the community, and before the protection of the environment. If we look at the Capitalist system, what we find is that not only does it recommend that we engage in the self-interested pursuit of profit is good, we learn that it is acceptable to harm others and the environment in the process. Please see KT's blog post - 'On The incredible immorality of corporate greed' for referenced examples of Corporations acting immorally in the pursuit of profit.

Marxists point out that in a Capitalist society, there is immense competitive pressure to make more money, to be more successful, and to make more profit, because in a competitive system, this is the only way to ensure survival. In such a context, breaking the law can seem insignificant compared to the pressure to succeed and pressures to break the law affect all people: from the investment banker to the unemployed gang member.

Marxists theorise that the values of the Capitalist system filter down to the rest of our culture. Think again about the motives of economic criminals: The burglars, the robbers, and the thieves. What they are doing is seeking personal gain without caring for the individual victims.
Secondly, Capitalism is Crimogenic because it encourages us to want things we don't need and can't afford
Companies such as Coca Cola and McDonald's spend billions of dollars every year on advertising, morphing their products into fantastical images that in no way resemble the grim reality of the products or the even grimmer reality of the productive processes that lie behind making their products. Advertising is a long way beyond merely providing us with information about a product; it has arguably become the art of disinformation.

It is doubtless that corporations benefit through advertising, and modern Capitalism could not exist without the culture of consumerism that the advertising industry perpetuates, and activities have pointed to many downsides. One of the most obvious is that the world of advertising presents as normal a lifestyle that may be unattainable for many people in British Society.

For those millions who lack the legitimate means to achieve the materialist norm through working, this can breed feelings of failure, inadequacy, frustration and anger at the fact that they are working-but-not-succeeding. In short, Advertising creates the conditions that can lead to status frustration, which in turn can lead to crime.

Merton and Nightingale have pointed out that for some the desire to achieve the success goals of society outweigh the pressure to obey the law, advertising only adds to this strain between the legitimate means and the goal of material success.
Thirdly, Capitalism is Crimogenic because it creates inequality and poverty
The Capitalist system is one of radical inequality. At the very top we have what David Rothkopf calls the 'Superclass' , mainly the people who run global corporations, and at the very bottom we have the underclass (in the developed world) and the slum dwellers, the street children and the refugees in the developing world.

The Sociologists Zygmunt Bauman points out that the super wealthy effectively segregate themselves from the wealthy, through living in exclusive gated communities and travelling in private jets and armoured vehicles with security entourages. If people can afford it, they move to a better area, and send their children to private schools. However, this doesn't prevent the poor and the rich from living side by side.

Marxists argue that this visible evidence of massive inequalities give people at the bottom a sense of injustice, a sense of anger and a sense of frustration that they are not sharing in the wealth being flaunted in front of them (the flaunting is the point is it not?) As a result, Capitalism leads to a flourishing of economic crime as well as violent street crime.

William Chambliss even goes so far as to say that economic crime ''represents rational responses to the competitiveness and inequality of life in capitalist societies". As we have seen from previous studies. Drug dealers see themselves as innovative entrepreneurs. So internalised is the desire to be successful that breaking the law is seen as a minor risk.

Marxists hold that more egalitarian societies based on the values of the co-operation and mutual assistance, have lower crime rates, as can be evidence from Bruce Parry's visit to the extremely egalitarian Island of Anuta

Does Capitalism encourage competition over co-operation?

Does exploitation lie at the heart of the Capitalist system?

Does Capitalism encourage us to be selfish consumers?

Does Capitalism cause crime?

Basic Marxist theory holds that the superstructure serves the ruling classes, thus the state passes laws which support ruling class interests.

Evidence for this can be found in the following:

Property rights are much more securely established in law than the collective rights of, for instance, trade unions . Property law clearly benefits the wealthy more than those with no property. William Chambliss has argued that 'at the heart of the Capitalist system lies the protection of Private Property. Consider the fact that there are roughly 100, 000 people recognised as homeless in the United Kingdom, and 300, 000 houses lying empty. The rights of the property owners to keep their properties empty are put before the rights of the needy to shelter.

Laureen Snider (1993) argues that and which might threaten profitability. Having tried so hard to attract investment the last thing the state wants to do is alienate the large corporations. The state is thus reluctant to pass - or enforce - laws against such things as pollution, worker health and safety and monopolies. Capitalist states are reluctant to pass laws which regulate large capitalist concerns

While the lack of regulation in these areas is obvious in the third world, in most of Europe, there are many laws protection the environment and health and safety, but fines for them are relatively low, and, until 2007, no individual member of a corporation could be prosecuted for damaging the environment or endangering worker safety through corporate practise.

A further recent example which could be used to support this is the deregulation of financial markets prior to the financial crisis of 2008 and subsequent 'credit crunch' and economic recession. The activities of the vast majority of bankers and financiers were not seen as illegal and, far from being prosecuted, many grew rich through the payments of large bonuses.

People have unequal access to the law . Having money to hire a good lawyer can delay trials, meaning the difference between being found not guilty or guilty, and influence the length of one's sentence and the type of prison one goes to. Thus for Marxists, punishment for a crime may depend and vary according to the social class of the perpetrator. Poorer criminals tend to receive harsher punishments than rich criminals. As evidenced in one of the examples above, Mark Thatcher received only a suspended sentence for assisting mercenaries in a military coup against a democratically elected government.

Discussion Question: Can you think of any other ways in which the law works in the interests of the elite?
Marxists argue that although they are hidden from view, the crimes of the elite exert a greater economic toll on society than the crimes of the 'ordinary people'. Laureen Snider (1993) points out that the cost of White Collar Crime and Corporate Crime to the economy far outweighs the cost of street crime by 'typical' criminals. Two contemporary organisations: Multinational Monitor and Corporate Watch, specialise in documenting the illegal activities of corporations.

In the section below we look at two types of white collar crime - Fraud and Health and Safety infringements. Both of these sound either terribly complex or terribly unexciting (or both) which means people are generally uninterested in hearing about them, and this general lack of public interest is something which helps the elite get away with an incredibly high level of criminality.

White Collar Crime: Crimes committed in the furtherance of an individual's own interests, often against the corporations of organisations within which they work.

Corporate Crime: Those crimes committed by or for corporations or businesses which act to further their interests and have a serious physical or economic impact on employees, consumers and the general public. The drive is usually the desire to increase profits.

The Cost of Financial Crime (Fraud)

Organisations such as Corporate Watch and.... Multinational Monitor, suggest that Corporate Fraud is widespread. The General Accounting Agency of the USA has estimated that 100s of savings and loans companies have failed in recent years due to insider dealing, failure to disclose accurate information, and racketeering. The cost to the taxpayer in the USA of corporate bail outs is estimated to be around $500 billion, or $5000 per household in the USA.

In 2009 the disgraced financier Bernie Madoff was sentenced to the maximum 150 years in prison for masterminding a $65bn (£38bn) fraud that

The US district judge Denny Chin described the fraud as "staggering" and said the "breach of trust was massive" and that a message was being sent by the sentence. There had been no letters submitted in support of Madoff's character, he said. Victims in the courtroom clapped as the term was read out.

Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud, theft and money laundering. The sentencing, in what has been one of the biggest frauds ever seen on Wall Street, was eagerly anticipated. Described by victims in written testimony as a "thief and a monster", Madoff has become an emblem for the greed that pitched the world into recession. Nearly 9,000 victims have filed claims for losses in Madoff's corrupt financial empire.

Madoff masterminded a huge "Ponzi" scheme. Instead of investing client's money in securities, it was held with a bank and new deposits used to pay bogus returns to give the impression that the business was successful. At the time of his arrest in December, he claimed to manage $65bn of investors' money, but in reality there was just $1bn left.

Corporate America has suffered a series of massive frauds during the past decade, including scandals at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and more recently the financial empire run by Texas billionaire Allen Stanford. Former WorldCom chief Benrard Ebbers is serving 25 years for accounting fraud. Former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison although the sentence was overturned. He remains in prison awaiting resentencing.
Discussion Question: Are crimes such as fraud more harmful to society than violent crime?
David Gordon argues that the police mainly focus on policing working class (and underclass) areas and the justice system mainly focuses on prosecuting working and underclass criminals. By and large the system ignores the crimes of the elite and the middle classes, although both of these classes are just as likely to commit crime as the working classes.

Gordon argues that the disproportionate prosecution of working class criminals ultimately serves to maintain ruling-class power and to reinforce ruling class ideology (thus performing 'ideological functions' for the ruling class.)

According to Gordon 'selective law enforcement' benefits the Capitalist system in three major ways:

We may also add a fourth benefit, that all of the police, court and media focus on working class street crime means that our attention is diverted away from the immorality and greed of the elite classes.

Related Posts
Evaluating the Marxist Perspective on Crime (part 1)

Assess the Contribution of Marxism to our Understanding of Crime and Deviance - outline essay plan
The Marxist Perspective on the Family The Marxist Perspective on Education
Dependency Theory (Marxism applied to global development)
Selected Sources

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Marxist criminologists see power being held by the Bourgeoisie and laws are a reflection of Bourgeois ideology. The legal system (lawyers, judges and the courts) and the police all serve the interests of the Bourgeoisie. These institutions are used to control the masses, prevent revolution and keep people in a state of false consciousness.

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A good test of a country's state of development is a visit to its prisons. Upcoming states may flaunt glitzy Gucci- and Versace-heavy shopping malls, but if their prisons are black holes of squalor and injustice, civilisation is a thin veneer. Increasingly, Britain fails that test, a country whose social fabric is in decline, and nowhere more than in its shameful jails.

The surge in prison numbers is terrible news, with prisons already grossly overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded. A 20% increase in violent assaults and escalating riots - this month in Hertfordshire, Wiltshire and Cumbria - are inevitable: expect worse to come. The rise in numbers is due to the courts sending more people to jail for longer, not more cases coming to court. The Ministry of Justice's recruitment of more prison officers is now overwhelmed by extra prisoners.

The Howard League, monitoring prison conditions, says staff shortages mean large numbers of prisoners are locked up for 23 or even 24 hours a day, lying on bunks in tiny shared cells. Self-injury rates rose by 24% in the year to April 2017, assaults on staff rose 40%, drugs are rife, mental illness is endemic and illiteracy and innumeracy are sky high, with fewer courses or classes to fit prisoners for work outside.

Reported crime has ticked up in the last three years, which may or may not be a result of police forces dealing with budget cuts in excess of 20%, with 19,000 fewer officers, but must surely be swollen by high reoffending by ex-prisoners. However, the long-term trend since the mid-1990s has been an extraordinary fall in crime right across the western world. But in England and Wales, that fall in crime has been greeted by a doubling in prison population. Ah, say the Daily Mail-minded, that shows locking them up keeps crime off the streets! Not so. Studies across countries show no correlation between numbers in jail, severity of punishment and these universal falling crime rates. Even within the US, states with wildly varying penal policies all saw the same fall in crime.

Why? You can take your pick of criminologists. Some point to more young people staying in education longer. And better early years teaching and support for struggling families prevents later crime in adolescence. Others say it's fashion: crime is for losers and it's no longer cool among the young. Tim Harford's Undercover Economist quotes research suggesting the pill and legal abortion means fewer unwanted children born to mothers who can't cope.

Whatever the reason, Britain's response has been abysmal. Falling crime was the great chance to reform punishment. Prisons could have become intensive mental care and education institutions mainly reserved for the violent, reducing reoffending. Community programmes for the non-violent could have treated them effectively with a good chance of employment. Instead, we doubled the numbers in prison, with less chance of rehabilitation.

Easing numbers would be easy under any justice secretary not obsessed with Daily Mail opinion

Labour was seriously to blame, as David Walker and I record in The Verdict, our own review of the Labour years in government. Swept to power on " tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime", Labour wrongly followed both strands. They were good on causes, with a major investment in early years, schools, youth offending teams, better further education colleges and a Connexions youth service. But Jack Straw, in charge of "tough on crime", took a purely cynical political approach: Tony Blair liked "eye-catching" anti-crime announcements and Labour created over 3,500 new criminal offences in 50 criminal justice bills.

Michael Howard, as Conservative home secretary, started the populist surge when his notorious 1995 "prison works" speech sent magistrates and judges scurrying to give heavier custodial sentences. His "three strikes and you're out" enforced locking up petty criminals after three minor thefts, and Straw stuck to it. The rise was rapid: in 1995 a first-time burglar had a 27% chance of jail, but by 2000 48% went to jail. The prison population swelled by two-thirds, to 83,887 by 2009, more per head than China. Indeterminate sentences swelled prison numbers too. Jack Straw had the effrontery to boast that crime fell in Labour years - with no evidence as to cause and no reference to other countries with the same results and a fraction of the number in jail.

At least Labour did improve prison conditions with new buildings, less overcrowding, no more slopping out filth and a bit more activity for inmates. But reoffending remained high. Since 2010, conditions have deteriorated badly with huge cuts. Overcrowding puts prisoners far from family. The severity of prison punishments means 3,000 years of extra prison time have been added to sentences within jail for minor infringements, very few of them violent. Chris Grayling, surely the worst ever justice secretary, who banned prisoners' books, cut early release - though 99.9% of prisoners came back on time and later re-offended less. The parole board is so underfunded there is now a huge backlog of cases awaiting its decisions.

Easing numbers would be easy under any justice secretary not obsessed with Daily Mail opinion. The only two who tried effectively were Tory - Douglas Hurd and Ken Clarke, but both were soon removed when their practical commonsense approach offended their party's bang-em-up ideology. Labour thought they could only win with "tough on crime" policies, and Straw was the Rottweiler to guard their right flank. Let's hope that next time, a Labour government might dare to be pragmatic and evidence-based on crime and punishment.

* Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

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'Tough on crime' created the prisons crisis. It's time for justice to be rational | Polly Toynbee

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A good test of a country's state of development is a visit to its prisons. Upcoming states may flaunt glitzy Gucci- and Versace-heavy shopping malls, but if their prisons are black holes of squalor and injustice, civilisation is a thin veneer.

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"DO YOU want a coffee?" It is a chilly morning on the ferry to Bastoy, an island prison in Norway. Two burly ferrymen greet a visiting journalist with a hot drink. Asked if they work for a local ferry company, they reply: "No, we are prisoners." One is serving 14 years for attempted murder. The other, nine years for "drugs and violence". The ferry is moored and there is no one around. Either man could easily make a run for it. But neither does. Hardly anyone tries to escape from Bastoy.

It has been called the "world's nicest prison", but this misses the point. The rooms are pleasant enough. The inmates can wander where they like on the island, go cross-country skiing in the winter and fish in the summer. So long as they keep it tidy they can enjoy the beach (see picture). Yet what is most unusual about Bastoy is not that it treats prisoners like human beings, but that it treats them like adults.

Prisons in other parts of the world try to stop inmates from laying hands on any piece of metal that could be shaped into a weapon. Bastoy prisoners walk around with hammers, axes and chainsaws. They chop down trees for furniture, grow vegetables and raise livestock. They used to slaughter cows but Norwegian health and safety laws make this uneconomical unless done on an industrial scale.

In short, the prisoners are expected to look after themselves. If they do not tend the forest, it will cover the island, notes Tom Eberhardt, the governor. If they do not tend the fields, the crops will die.

Inmates do not start their sentences at Bastoy. They must do time in a conventional lockup and apply to be transferred, having convinced the authorities that they wish to reform. In a normal prison, inmates are spoon-fed, notes Mr Eberhardt. "They take only three or four decisions a day, such as when to go to the toilet." At Bastoy they make nearly as many decisions as they would if they were free. By teaching the inmates responsibility, Bastoy aims to "create good neighbours".

Norway has the lowest reoffending rate in Scandinavia: two years after release, only 20% of prisoners have been reconvicted. By contrast, a study of 29 American states found a recidivism rate nearly twice as high. This is despite the fact that Norway reserves prison for hard cases, who would normally be more likely to reoffend. Its incarceration rate, at 74 per 100,000 people, is about a tenth of America's.

Visiting Americans find the atmosphere at Bastoy shocking. Why is security so lax? Where are the lethal electric fences and the guards with shotguns? At a prison in Indian Springs, Nevada, your correspondent was advised not to wear blue because that was the colour of the prison uniform. It was unlikely that there would be trouble, the press officer explained, but if there was you would not want an armed guard to mistake you for a rioting inmate.

Nelson Mandela once observed that: "No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails." This article makes a different argument: that although they have improved in recent decades, the world's prisons are nowhere near as effective as they should be at curbing crime or reducing harm to society. Far too many fit the description of Douglas Hurd, a former British home secretary, who said that: "Prison is an expensive way of making bad people worse."

What ails the jails

There are at least 10.3m people behind bars worldwide, according to Roy Walmsley of the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, a think-tank. This is a snapshot-many more pass through each year and yet more are on parole or probation. The global total excludes countries such as North Korea and Eritrea, which have big gulags but publish no data. It also undercounts the number in China, which has not recently revealed how many of its people are locked up awaiting trial.

Since 2000 the number of prisoners in the world has risen by 20%, a little above population growth of 18%. The trend masks a frenzy of regional change. South America, South-East Asia and the Middle East have seen sharp increases in prisoner numbers (145%, 75% and 75%). In Europe numbers have fallen by 21%. Over the same period, crime has fallen worldwide.

Many jails are hellish; sometimes deliberately so. In Syrian prisons, dissidents are beaten, given electric shocks, crushed in a folding board called the "flying carpet" and hanged in their thousands after two-minute "trials". More commonly, prisons are vile because they are overcrowded and ill-managed, so the nastier inmates (and guards) can do what they please.

At some Brazilian lockups, for example, heavily outnumbered guards patrol the perimeter and allow gang bosses to impose order within. Convicts are free to run their drug empires by mobile phone. In the first two weeks of 2017, as rival gangs fought for supremacy, at least 125 inmates were killed in riots in Brazil. At one prison in Manaus, severed heads and limbs were stacked on the floor.

Worldwide, overcrowding is the norm. Prisons cost money to build, after all, and there are few votes to be won by making life easier for criminals. In 58% of the 198 countries for which there are data, prisons are more than 100% full, says the latest annual Global Prison Trends report from Penal Reform International, a think-tank. Some 40% of countries were above 120% capacity; 26% were above 150%.

America locks up far more people than any other rich country (see chart 1). Yet the recent trend has been towards leniency. The proportion of American adults behind bars fell from a peak of 1 in 100 in 2008 to 1 in 115 in 2015. Several states have tried to find alternatives to incarceration for non-violent criminals, partly to save money and partly because they have concluded that locking up too many people for too long does little for public safety. "Kentucky prisons were full of people we're mad at, not people we're afraid of," says John Tilley, the secretary of justice in Kentucky.

On the straight and narrow

Donald Trump's attorney-general, Jeff Sessions, wants to make America more punitive again. This month he ordered federal prosecutors to seek maximum sentences for drug offenders. Although federal inmates are less than a tenth of the total in America, Mr Sessions shows that advocates of old-fashioned "tough-on-crime" policies are still powerful.

One reason for locking people up is to punish them. Victims of crime, especially, may be comforted by the knowledge that their tormentors are suffering. In a poll in crime-racked Brazil, 57% of people agreed that "a good criminal is a dead criminal."

But for many people the aim of incarceration is to reduce the harm caused by criminals. Prisons can do this in three ways. First, they restrain: a thug behind bars cannot break into your house. Second, they deter: the prospect of being locked up makes potential wrongdoers think twice. Third, they reform: under state supervision, a criminal can be taught better habits.

On the first count, most prisons succeed, but at a cost. The mass incarceration of certain groups of men, such as black Americans, can tear apart families and communities. And many criminals are kept locked up long past the age at which they cease to pose much of a risk to the public. Violence is a young man's vice; there are not many middle-aged muggers.

On the second count, deterrence, prisons are necessary unless we want to bring back flogging. But sentences need not be as long as they are in many countries, especially America. Criminals have short time horizons-a ten-year sentence only deters them slightly more than a one-year sentence, though it costs ten times as much. To deter would-be criminals, what matters most is not the severity of the penalty but the certainty and swiftness with which it is imposed. Criminals restrain themselves only if they think they will be caught and punished. Steven Levitt, an economist, estimates that in America $1 spent on police is at least 20% more effective in preventing crime than $1 spent on prisons.

Even when the police are effective, criminals are often undeterred. They are typically impulsive and opportunistic, picking fights because they are angry and grabbing loot because it is visible. Which is why rehabilitation is so important: nearly all inmates will eventually be released, and it is far better for everyone if they do not go back to their old ways.

The countries that lock up the fewest people tend to be either liberal (Sweden, Finland) or too poor to build many prisons (see chart 2). In the Central African Republic, the incarceration rate is only 16 per 100,000. (By one estimate half the inmates are serving time for witchcraft.)

Reserving prison for the worst offenders has hefty benefits. First, it saves money. In America, for example, incarcerating a federal convict costs eight times as much as putting the same convict on probation. Second, it avoids mixing minor offenders with more hardened criminals, who will teach them bad habits. "The low-level guys don't tend to rub off on the higher-level prisoners. It goes the other way," says Ron Gordon of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, a state body.

Modern electronic tags are cheap and effective. In a recent study Rafael Di Tella of Harvard University and Ernesto Schargrodsky of Torcuato Di Tella University compared the effects of electronic tagging versus prison for alleged offenders in Buenos Aires. Earlier research had failed to deal with the fact that criminals who are tagged are less likely to reoffend than the more dangerous ones who are locked up. The authors found a way round this. Alleged criminals in Argentina are assigned randomly to judges for pre-trial hearings. Liberal judges are reluctant to hold them in the country's awful jails, so they often order them to be tagged. So-called mano dura (tough hand) judges prefer to lock them up. The researchers observed what happened to similar offenders under different regimes. Only 13% of those who were tagged were later rearrested; for those sent to prison the figure was 22%.

Prison break

Some criminals are so dangerous that they need to be locked up. But nearly all will one day be released. Consider Tore (not his real name), an inmate at Bastoy. He spent his 20s selling drugs, drinking and partying. One day, when he was high on methamphetamine and had not slept for three days, he attacked two friends with a knife, over nothing-some expensive clothes. He was arrested, charged and got into another fight while awaiting trial. He was eventually given a 14-year sentence for three attempted murders and intending to sell several kilos of hash.

For the first couple of years inside a closed prison, he was furious and blamed "everyone else" for his plight, he says. But then he took a course with a counsellor who had lived "the same life". She talked to him about his regret for what he had done, and persuaded him that he could never touch alcohol again. It took many months. "It was like freedom," he recalls.

At Bastoy he took a carpentry exam. He will probably be released in three years. On that day, he expects to have a job. Bastoy inmates can start working outside 18 months before they are released-the aim is to ensure that every ex-prisoner has a roof, an income and something to do. (In America some prisoners are released after long sentences with little more than clothes and a bus fare.) Eventually Tore plans to set up his own carpentry business.

Inmate, you'll have to wait

Prisons around the world use a variety of tools to prevent recidivism. It is fiendishly hard to disentangle what influences a convict's future behaviour, but Adam Gelb of the Pew Charitable Trusts, a think-tank, lays out some principles which have been shown to work.

First, identify the inmates who are most likely to reoffend. Some good predictors of this cannot be changed, such as a troubled family background and previous criminal history. Age is also crucial-some 68% of federal prisoners in America who are released before the age of 21 are rearrested within 8 years; for the over-60s, it is only 16%. Other risk factors are more malleable. Poor impulse control, substance abuse and the habit of picking anti-social friends can all respond to treatment.

Rehabilitation programmes that focus on factors other than crime, such as creative abilities, physical conditioning and self-esteem do not reduce criminal behaviour, argues Edward Latessa of the University of Cincinnati. Boot camps are especially ineffective: they foster aggression and bond criminals together.

Oliver Bueno, a former drug-dealer, agrees. "I came out worse," he recalls of his time in a juvenile boot camp in Nevada. "You got beat up all the time by staff," he says, adding that the guards were "ex-military, hillbillies and real racists". He describes having his head shaved and being constantly shouted at. "The abuse got me more and more angry, hating authority," he says. After his release, he went straight back to gangbanging, selling drugs and getting into fights over trivial slights. Shortly before his next arrest, he says, "I had a gun in [another man's] face and I don't even remember what it was about."

Perhaps the best tool is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This is not about sitting in a circle and sharing one's inner demons. It is about helping people to understand the "triggers"-people, places and things-that prompt them to offend. The counsellor nudges the offender towards minimising negative influences and maximising positive ones. For example, "If you get together with your friend Tom on payday and go crazy, maybe you should avoid Tom on payday," says Mr Gelb. Counsellors should not argue or hector, but show that they are listening and praise offenders for acting responsibly.

Norway uses CBT a lot-Tore benefited from it. America uses it spottily. A study of over 500 programmes in American prisons, jails and probation agencies by Faye Taxman of George Mason University found that only 20% involved CBT and only about 5% of individuals were likely to have access to it. Done well, it can reduce recidivism by 10-30%. A meta-analysis of 50 CBT programmes in America by Thomas Feucht and Tammy Holt for the National Institute of Justice, a government body, found that 74% were effective or promising. They worked best with juvenile offenders and worst with wife-beaters. There was mixed evidence for the effect on sex offenders, who are hard to reform.

The great escape

Mr Bueno, the former drug-dealer, says he was reformed not by anything he learned in prison, but by Hope for Prisoners, a charity-and God. When he left his cell for the final time, he went back to his old friends and was "walking back down the same old paths". Then his girlfriend (now wife) suggested he go and listen to Jon Ponder, an armed robber-turned-preacher, who teaches ex-convicts to take responsibility for their lives. Mr Bueno exults that he has joined "the most powerful gang in the world-God's gang". Tore, in Norway, has a more secular view of reform: "I just want to be a normal person and pay tax."

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Too many prisons make bad people worse. There is a better way

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"DO YOU want a coffee?" It is a chilly morning on the ferry to Bastoy, an island prison in Norway. Two burly ferrymen greet a visiting journalist with a hot drink. Asked if they work for a local ferry company, they reply: "No, we are prisoners." One is serving 14 years for attempted murder.

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More than 170 offenders convicted of crimes which normally attract jail terms of a year or less have chosen to serve their time outside prison.

The enhanced combination order, which combines community service with strict supervision, was developed by the Probation Board.

The aim is to deter those who end up in custody from reoffending.

It has produced some positive results with a 40% reduction in the reoffending rate for those who complete the order.

The pilot has been in operation in the two court areas of Armagh and South Down, and Ards.

The orders cost around £6,000 - a tenth of what it costs to keep a prisoner in jail for a year.

Martin Trimble recently completed one, instead of a short prison sentence, and said it had helped to turn his life around.

"I was going to community service and once a week I had my appointments, my counselling, my probation officer," he said.

"And yes, I was never able to belittle the crime, it was always there."

All of the offenders on the order are required to undertake a mental health assessment. They are referred to the appropriate services if a professional decides that they require treatment.

"I think when you get institutionalised your mental state deteriorates and you could do anything and you could make silly mistakes that you shouldn't have made," he said.

"With the order, I think I had more of an opportunity to change my life in the future rather than maybe making the same mistakes," he said.

"I don't know whether if I'd ended up in jail, I would have come out with remorse and regret and maybe learned from that mistake. I probably wouldn't have."

There is a restorative justice element to the order as victims are asked whether they would like to be put in contact with the person who perpetrated the crime against them.

Maddie O'Neill from Victim Support NI said victims can also suggest different types of community service.

"Most people are saying that they want it to be something manual, that they want it to be something physical," she said.

"But a lot of the time, it's not really for victims about what they do.

"It's about their voices being heard. So getting the question asked and getting the chance to feed in and even being asked what would you like to see the person do, has a bit of a restorative effect for people."

Nine out of ten people sent to prison in Northern Ireland are there for less than a year.

Paul Doran, director of rehabilitation at the Probation Board, insists the order is no "soft-touch" approach, with offenders strictly monitored throughout their sentences.

"Probation are keen to expand the scheme and, indeed, judges in the other court areas are very keen to have it," he said.

"We will be talking to the Department of Justice in a problem-solving approach to crime, to try and identify resources to expand enhanced combination orders throughout Northern Ireland."

The enhanced combination order pilot has recently been extended until March next year.

The Probation Board's goal of expanding the order across Northern Ireland could depend on whether devolved government can be restored at Stormont.

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Keep out of jail order cuts re-offending rates - BBC News

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More than 170 offenders convicted of crimes which normally attract jail terms of a year or less have chosen to serve their time outside prison. The enhanced combination order, which combines community service with strict supervision, was developed by the Probation Board. The aim is to deter those who end up in custody from reoffending.

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The scale of the prison crisis in England and Wales is revealed by the latest annual figures showing a 38% rise in assaults on staff and a 24% rise in self-harm incidents in the past year to record levels.

The latest Ministry of Justice safety in custody statistics also show that there were 113 self-inflicted deaths in the 12 months to this March - an increase of 11 over the previous year.

Troublingly the number of prison suicides included 10 women - far higher than the previous number of two to three a year. There were also three murders behind bars in England and Wales over the same period.

Prison assaults and incidents of self-harm

Ministers will try to take some hope from the fact that the figures for the most recent three months show a fall in the number of prison deaths and a 4% decline in assaults, including prisoner on prisoner and on staff.

The latest quarter's figures show the first fall in the level of prison assaults since 2014, but MoJ statisticians warn that such quarterly figures need to be treated with caution owing to greater volatility and potential for seasonal effects.

The rate of prison suicides has more than doubled since 2013 from 0.6 to 1.3 per 1,000 prisoners, while among female prisoners it has soared from 1 to 2.6 per 1,000. The number of self-inflicted deaths for the 12 months to March 2017 was slightly down on the record 119 recorded in 2016. MoJ officials said the 113 prison suicides were still the fourth highest on record for a 12-month period.

Number of suicides among prisoners

The statistics show that incidents of self-harm reached a record high of 40,161 in 2016 - up 24% or 7,848 above the previous year. The number of incidents in which the prisoner required hospital treatment also rose 21% to 2,740.

The level of assaults also continued to rise in 2016, reaching a record level of 26,022 - up 27% on the previous year. Assaults on staff were up 385 to 6,844.

Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "The message from these deeply alarming numbers could not be any clearer. An overcrowded prison system cannot cope with the number of people it is expected to hold.

"People are being maimed and dying in unprecedented numbers as a direct consequence. Two years of positive rhetoric from the government about prison reform has done nothing to stop a relentless decline in safety. There is no end in sight, and a new government must make a reduction in imprisonment a top priority," he said.

Frances Crook of the Howard League for Penal Reform echoed those concerns, saying: "These latest figures on safety in custody are unutterably terrible. It is frankly shameful that such human misery under the supposed care of the state is allowed to continue in the 21st century.

"The general election is only six weeks away and the political parties must address this crisis directly. By taking bold but sensible steps to reduce the prison population, we can save lives and prevent more people being swept away into deeper currents of crime and despair,."

The Liberal Democrat prisons spokesman, Jonathan Marks, asaid the figures were a damning indictment of the government's inability to get violence in prisons under control.

"Theresa May's vanity election has meant that prison and courts bill, which would have delivered much needed reform has had to be shelved - this is the Tories yet again putting party ahead of country. Unless they tackle the overcrowding in prisons by reducing the numbers I fear we will continue to see an ever-increasing number of deaths, self-harm and violence," he said.

"Those who work in our prisons deserve better than this but they continue to be ignored by Theresa May and her ministers, who have not given them the extra staff and resources they need."

The Ministry of Justice said it was unable to comment because of the restrictions imposed by " purdah " during the general election period.

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Prison statistics reveal big rise in self-harm and assaults on staff

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The scale of the prison crisis in England and Wales is revealed by the latest annual figures showing a 38% rise in assaults on staff and a 24% rise in self-harm incidents in the past year to record levels.

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The US will release nearly 6,000 people jailed for drug crimes in the coming days, an effort to reform policies that led to mass incarceration.

About 3,400 inmates were already confined in places like halfway houses.

Another 1,700 of the inmates are not US citizens and will possibly face deportation.

The changes come as part of an effort to reverse long jail terms for non-violent offenders, who make up about half of the federal prison population.

Many of these prisoners were released from federal custody on Friday. The rest will be released by Tuesday.

They are the first wave of what will be thousands set free because of new rules from the US Sentencing Commission.

On average, their jail terms are being reduced by about two years.

It is not yet clear exactly what will happen to the non-US citizen prisoners. A BBC inquiry to the Department of Justice was not answered.

This release is the biggest of its kind in US history, and up to 46,000 of the country's 100,000 drug offenders could qualify.

More on mass incarceration

Life after mass incarceration - One Philadelphia neighbourhood shows early release is just the first step.

Why are so many Americans behind bars? - The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan looks at how the prison population got to record levels.

President Barack Obama's administration has been working to tackle what he sees as a lack of fairness in the system.

The planned releases continue a drive that started in 2013 when US Attorney General Eric Holder dropped mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders.

Many leading Democrats and Republicans now believe that mandatory prison sentences that led to mass incarceration in the US have not been effective.

The US has almost a quarter of the world's prison population - one in every 99 Americans is behind bars.

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US prisoner release: Nearly 6,000 drug inmates to go free - BBC News

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The US will release nearly 6,000 people jailed for drug crimes in the coming days, an effort to reform policies that led to mass incarceration. About 3,400 inmates were already confined in places like halfway houses. Another 1,700 of the inmates are not US citizens and will possibly face deportation.