ministryofjustice
Latest
Brits can soon plead guilty and pay fines for petty crimes online
As part of new plans, UK criminals accused of minor offenses will soon be able to plead guilty and receive their sentence online. In a government report published today, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice acknowledged that letting defendants accept their conviction online and letting them pay a pre-determined penalty (including fines and legal costs) upfront would free up magistrates and courts so that they can focus on more complex cases.
Software error overinflates thousands of UK divorce settlements
An error in an electronic form used to help calculate the financial aspects of a divorce could potentially open old wounds for thousands of UK couples, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed. The Guardian reports that the software, known as a "Form E" on the HM Courts and Tribunals website, would wrongly state that wife or husband was worth more than they really were. If a minus figure was entered against the financial liabilities of each partner, the form failed to recognise them, boosting the overall value of their assets significantly.
UK jails considering RFID implants for prisoners
Ah -- dead, eerily-prescient, 20th century authors... they just can't stop proving you right, can they? In a decidedly Orwellian turn, British authorities are considering a proposal to implant "machine-readable" RFID tags under the skin of some prison inmates as part of a plan to free up space in the country's overcrowded prisons. Just like the nightmare world described in your favorite cautionary tales, the chips would enable authorities to track the location of implantees using satellite and radio-wave technology. The program would build off of the current ankle-tagging currently in place, and according to a official from the Ministry of Justice who finds the plan double-plus good, "All the options are on the table, and this is one we would like to pursue." Of course, the controversial concept does have its detractors, Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, says that, "If the Home Office doesn't understand why implanting a chip in someone is worse than an ankle bracelet, they don't need a human-rights lawyer; they need a common-sense bypass." Shortly following this statement, however, Shami was taken to an interrogation room and outfitted with a rat-hood, and all record of her existence was erased from state records.[Via Slashdot]
