Home Secretary urges MPs to back the Policing Bill
|
Backing the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is vital to
overhauling the criminal justice system, better protecting victims
and cutting crime, the Home Secretary has said. Ahead
of the Bill going back before the Commons next week, Priti Patel
will today (21 February) write to all 650 MPs urging them to
support new, improved proposals to keep our streets safer, see
women and children better protected from the worst predators and
give offenders more...Request free
trial
Backing the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is vital to overhauling the criminal justice system, better protecting victims and cutting crime, the Home Secretary has said.
Ahead of the Bill going back before the Commons next week, Priti Patel will today (21 February) write to all 650 MPs urging them to support new, improved proposals to keep our streets safer, see women and children better protected from the worst predators and give offenders more opportunities to turn their lives around. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “We are putting more police officers on the streets, removing dangerous weapons and bearing down on violent criminals who prey on vulnerable people in our communities. “But while violent crime has fallen, there are still too many criminals getting off with inadequate sentences for appalling acts of violence and sexual offences and still people who feel unsafe walking the streets or in their own homes. “This Bill is vitally important as we overhaul the criminal justice system and make our streets safer. It must be passed soon so that we can continue to cut crime, reduce violence and protect women and girls.”
The Bill already toughened sentences for the perpetrators of the most abhorrent crimes such as rape and child murder and pledged to give police more powers to tackle offending. Now the enhanced version going back before the Commons next week after its consideration in the Lords will also include, among other measures:
In her letter, the Home Secretary will set out the Government’s response to the debates and votes in the House of Lords. This will include opposing amendments to:
In its independent review of hate crime laws, the Law Commission has found that legislating to make misogyny a hate crime would in fact prove “more harmful than helpful” to victims of violence against women and girls. For example, prosecutors would need to prove a ‘hate crime’ occurred as part of another offence, such as rape, making it harder to prosecute sexual offences and domestic abuse. Alternatively, the Law Commission found that excluding domestic abuse and sexual offences from being designated as a hate crime, which is being proposed, would result in only “tokenistic” change because it would exclude the most serious offences that frequently cause great harm to women and girls. It also noted that the exclusion of these offences risks suggesting they are not rooted in misogyny, and would treat sex/gender unequally to other characteristics in scope of hate crime laws, such as race or religion.
The Government is clear that exploitation through “sex for rent” has no place in our society; however, there are existing offences in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which can, and have, been used successfully to prosecute this practice. The Online Safety Bill will also include relevant offences relating to the incitement and control of prostitution for gain in the list of “priority offences” which internet companies will need to take proactive steps to tackle. Nonetheless, we recognise the importance of ensuring we have the right legislation in place to tackle those seeking to exploit others through this practice and the Home Office will carry out a public consultation and launch this by the summer recess.
The Government has already introduced a statutory duty of cooperation for serving police officers as part of wider integrity reforms. This existing duty to cooperate puts a greater onus on officers than the duty of candour provided for in the Lord’s amendment as they could ultimately be dismissed for a breach, so the Government is reluctant to dilute the existing measures in place to compel officers to cooperate. We will be closely monitoring the impact of this new legislation on police co-operation with inquiries and investigations. The Government will table its own amendment that commits it to publishing a report on the nature and prevalence of ‘spiking’ – by means of intentionally administering a substance to someone without their consent to cause them harm – and the steps that Government is taking to address it. The Home Secretary has already confirmed the Government is looking into whether creating a new offence specifically on spiking would help the police and courts tackle the issue.
The Government will also continue fighting for crucial changes to public order law that will enable the police to better manage highly disruptive protests, protect the wider general public from extreme disruption and put a stop to those intent on causing intimidation and harm.
The Home Secretary will welcome the Lords’ amendment which would enable a local authority to quickly establish a ‘buffer zone’ around schools and vaccination centres if targeted by harmful and disruptive protests, as have been seen recently from ‘anti-vaxxers’. She will point out to MPs the irony of recognising the significant harm that can be caused by protests with this amendment and highlight that logic follows that it shouldn’t just be schools and vaccination centres that are protected.
The Bill will be back in the Commons for the ‘ping-pong’ stage on 28th February 2022. ENDS |