An Assisting Offender is a suspected or convicted criminal in the United Kingdom, who has agreed to assist the investigation or prosecution of other on their own criminal history.
In the United Kingdom the use of Assisting Offenders is enabled by the
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
The Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005 (c.15) (often abbreviated to SOCPA or SOCAP) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed primarily at creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It also significantly extended and si ...
(SOCPA), the relevant sections of which came into force in 2006. The relevant sections are:
Immunity
Section 71 of the SOCPA allows a Specified Prosecutor to grant an Assisting Offender
immunity from prosecution
Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. Su ...
.
Restricted Use Undertaking
Section 72 of the SOCPA allows a Specified Prosecutor to grant an undertaking to an Assisting Offender that information will not be used against that person. It is a form of limited immunity.
Reduced sentence
Section 73 of the SOCPA allows a Specified Prosecutor to sign an agreement with the Assisting Offender that the assistance of the offender will be brought to the attention of a Court in order to allow the court to pass a reduced sentence on the Assisting offender.
Review of sentence
Section 74 of the SOCPA allows a Specified Prosecutor to seek a review of a previously sentenced prisoner who has entered an agreement to assist the prosecution or investigation of other criminals in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Use of legislation
The 2005 legislation placed the use of so-called '
supergrasses' onto a statutory footing.
Assisting Offenders have been used in some notable cases with mixed results. In 2007
Rhys Jones was shot dead in Liverpool as part of a gang related incident. One of the suspects was later arrested in possession of a firearm and became an Assisting Offender giving evidence for the prosecution.
In
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
the use of Assisting Offenders was heavily criticised when the trial of 13 men for a range of terrorist crimes ended with only one conviction after a trial that had cost £11.5 million
References
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Crimes
Legal terminology