Crime and Policing Bill Enters Parliament

After much deliberation and speculation, the Crime and Policing Bill has now been introduced into Parliament. Born from the ashes of the conservative’s Criminal Justice Bill, the Crime and Policing Bill has a few notable differences and changes, its name itself notes in shift into a focus on institutions and specific ‘crime’ rather than something as often nebulous as ‘Justice’. The Labour Government will seek to prove its credentials on crime and policing, one of its missions being our ‘safer streets’,  thus aiming to use this Bill as one of the conduits for this change. Described as 'one of the biggest legislative updates to policing for decades', it contains a huge package of new laws that aim to tackle the growing concerns of antisocial behaviour, shop theft and street crime. 

We have been tracking some of the most notable inclusions into this Bill for some time, these include, for example, the notable announcement of respect orders in November of last year. This also follows an uplift in police funding following the December provisional settlement. As the economic challenges continue to beckon, and the Labour Government aims to prove its legislative competency in its first term, it will be a key showing in helping to restore much-needed confidence in neighbourhood policing, helping to rid town centres and high streets from what is often described as a ‘epidemic’ of anti-social behaviour. We welcome new legislative change to this landscape, and some of these proposed changes appear to be a shift in the right direction.

Some of the key announcements that have been made are:

• New criminal offence covering spiking
• Extending the current offence of exposure and creating a new child abduction offence  
• Giving the police and others stronger powers to tackle antisocial behaviour by introducing Respect Orders
• Removing the need for police to issue a warning before seizing vehicles, such as off-road bikes being used antisocially
• The strengthening of existing antisocial behaviour powers.
• Child Criminal Exploitation and cuckooing –offence of Child Criminal Exploitation will be introduced to protect young people and prosecute those who prey on them for criminal gain, whilst Cuckooing – the seizure of a vulnerable person’s home to commit crimes – will also become a specific crime.
• Management of Registered sex offenders, including restrictions on changing their names and a duty on an offender to notify of any name change – this was also announced in the last conservative government’s Criminal Justice Bill - Tougher laws to protect children from sexual abuse - GOV.UK
• Tackling vehicle theft and organised crime – a new law looking to ban vehicle theft equipment, such as the possession or distribution of electronic devices like ‘signal jammers’, carrying a maximum sentence of 5 years. Signal jammers are used in an estimated 60% of car thefts.

The official Home Office statement on this annoucement can be read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-powers-for-police-to-tackle-neighbourhood-crime 

While the bill goes through scrutiny in parliament, it will pass through the first reading, then the second reading, where upon it will go to a Public Bill Committee. Often when a bill reaches this stage, there will be a call for evidence, in which Parliament will call for stakeholders and organisations to give their evidenced opinion and expertise to aid scrutiny. We will of course be involved in this, and we will be on the forefront to this Bill’s development, seeking any views and expertise.

Any questions, or to register your interest in the upcoming work in regard to this Bill, please get into contact with:

Harrison Box, Policy Officer

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