The Crime and Policing Bill is steadily making its way through Parliament, and onwards through the Committee Stage. The wide-ranging bill, seeking to both enhance tools and powers from the anti-social behaviour, crime and policing act 2014, and implement new legislation, is currently undergoing scrutiny. The wide-ranging purposes of the Bill, as articulated by the government across the explanatory notes, press notice and overarching factsheet are to counter serious violence, violence against women and girls, and the exploitation of children and vulnerable adults; to protect the public from anti-social behaviour, retail crime and shop theft; to equip the police and others with powers to combat anti-social behaviour, knife crime and terrorism; and to rebuild public confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.
As apart of this scrutiny, there has been a debate in the houses of parliament among the Public Bill Committee, in which the Bill was scrutinised by various stakeholders. We will have a look at some of the key takeaways and other key amendments that have arisen.
For the official report on the debate so far click here.
We are also conducting a special interest group in relation to the current call for evidence in regards to this Bill, for more information contact:
Harrison Box, Policy Officer
Key Amendments:
There have been a few key amendments that have occurred during the debate in the Public Bill Committee. Respect Orders in particular have seen a slew of amendments, including:
- Lowering the age to 16 at which a court can impose a respect order on a person to prevent them from engaging in anti-social behaviour
- If a court makes a respect order against a person more than once, then P is liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale ( means that if a person gets more than one RO, they are liable for a fine)
- A respect order may have the effect of moving any application the respondent may have for social housing to the end of the waiting list. (mean that a person who receives a respect order would move to the bottom of the waiting list for social housing, if applicable.
- Penalties for repeated breaches of a respect order with a prison sentence of up to 5 years.
Some further amendments include:
- Requiring the courts to make a community order against repeat offenders of retail crime in order to restrict the offender’s liberty.
- Imposing a duty (subject to certain exceptions) to impose a curfew requirement, an exclusion requirement or an electronic whereabouts monitoring requirement on certain persons convicted of an offence under section 15, where the offender is given a community sentence or suspended sentence order.
- Requiring the Secretary of State to publish annual reports on police presence, use of stop and search, and live facial recognition technology in areas with the highest levels of serious crime.
- Police Reform Act 2002 is amended as follows: a moped driven by an individual with a provisional license is to be regarded by a constable as ‘likely to cause, alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public’ if the individual is using their vehicle for commercial activities
The full amendment paper as it currently stands can be read here
Respect Orders
Respect Orders, one of the landmark orders for the government included in this bill, continued scrutiny during the first debate of the committee stage. Dan Murphy, the Assistant National Secretary from the Superintendents Association, largely supported respect orders for addressing anti-social swiftly and quickly, emphasising the importance of eradicating ASB, quickly. Of course, there was an emphasis on the need for infrastructure and resources to support new measures effectively, any policy provisions must have the resources to emphasis efficacy of legislation. Tiff Lynch, from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), noted the importance of public understanding and perception, and again, the need for adequate resources to enforce respect orders.
Resources and funding for agencies dealing with antisocial behaviour has been strained since austerity during the coalition government. Policy can project an air of change and transformation, but without the practicality of resources this is largely destined for weak litigation in practice. We of course support the wide-ranging provisions of Respect Orders; however, we stress the importance of funding and resourcing, particularly when it comes to referral agencies that facilitate positive requirements.
Tiff Lynch from the NPCC, largely supported the current age limit that was proposed for respect orders, being 18, but did note the need for broader definitions of anti-social behaviour. Of course, anti-social behaviour is still defined as it was in the 2014 act, and the vague nature of anti-social behaviour is often touted as a hindrance to a well-established, routine response to anti-social behaviour. Again, as much from previously in the debate, there was an added importance for the need for infrastructure and resources to support new laws effectively. Lastly, it is of course a major concern of many for the civil justice delays and backlogs, as a part of this, prisons and their overcrowding often cause significant issues. On this point, it was raised that there are still significant challenges with uses prison as a tool for prolific offenders, and the need for resourcing in regard to this.
Retail Workers
Violence and abuse against retail workers has been a growing problem for some time, figures from multiple sources point to a massive scourge of retail worker abuse and violence, Retail Trust found that ‘90% of retail workers have experienced customer abuse’.[1] The British Retail Consortium found that violence and abuse against retail staff is at a high with over 400 incidents per day.[2] Retail related anti-social behaviour and violence is a scourge for the community and business, as any experience of these two create a perception of fear, and isolate those who often use our high street stores as places of outing and community.
Dan Murphy, from the Superintendents Association, supported the removal of the infamous 200-pound threshold that currently exists for shoplifting and the recognition of the role of retail workers, particularly during a difficult period. It was emphasized during the debate of the need for a ‘strong execution of laws and support for retail workers. This was compounded by challenges discussed of the criminal justice system, and the stressed need for effective enforcement in order to best implement the retail crime measures.
Prolific Offenders and Early Intervention
It was welcomed that the committee discussed the need for considering hyper prolific offenders and potential interventions that can best alleviate their impact. It was discussed around the challenges of sentencing prolific offenders and the need for community-based intensive interventions. Indeed, the causal factors for ASB are complex and are often layered, often comprising of intense drug or alcohol addiction along with mental health. It is therefore positive to see this highlighted as an important factor for agencies and the government, with suggestions that prevention, rather than reaction, through community-based approaches is the ultimate long-term solution.
Cuckooing
Cuckooing, the act of taking over someone’s home for the purposes for selling illegal drugs, is a growing and serious scourge across many communities. There was strong support across the committee for the cuckooing proposal, citing a continuing evidence base of exploitation across constituencies. Cuckooing often affects our most vulnerable, in that regard, the Bill’s proposal aims to protect vulnerable people, who are often than not adults with learning disabilities, from being exploited by unscrupulous criminals.
For Resolve, our focus is firmly on the importance of early intervention and protection for vulnerable individuals, it is therefore welcomed that the committee stressed the importance of early intervention and protection for vulnerable individuals.
Conclusion
The committee debate emphasised the need to learn from previous crime and policing bills, particularly the importance of ensuring legislative intent aligns with the operational, on the floor reality. On this, it was reiterated how important it was to make sure impact assessments are read and understood to ensure the adequate resourcing of the relevant agencies.
We are busy coordinating and constructing our written response to this vital piece of legislation, and we want to help represent as many members as possible in this response. We are currently conducting a special interest group on the Bill on the 7th of April at 1:00PM – 2:30PMN for all interested members who wish to contribute and give their views.
For more information or any queries please contact:
Harrison Box, Policy Officer
[1] https://www.retailtrust.org.uk/helping-your-business/customer-resources/respect-retail-2023
[2] https://brc.org.uk/priorities/nrcsg-against-shop-worker-abuse-and-violence/
