Secretary of State for the Home Department (): The Government is today
launching a consultation on two proposals to strengthen the law
on serious and organised crime.
Law enforcement agencies frequently encounter articles which they
suspect are being used in serious crime but which they are unable
to act on under existing legislation. The Government is therefore
consulting on a proposal to create new offences to criminalise
the making, modification, supply, offer to supply and possession
of articles for use in serious crime. Such articles include, for
example, vehicle concealments or ‘hides’ used to transport
illicit commodities, sophisticated and bespoke encrypted
communication devices, templates for 3D-printing firearms
components and pill presses used to make illicit drugs.
The Government is also consulting on proposals to improve and
strengthen the existing powers on Serious Crime Prevention Orders
under the Serious Crime Act 2007. This includes enabling a
broader set of law enforcement bodies to apply for such orders,
as well as strengthening their monitoring arrangements.
The consultation seeks views to inform the Government’s policy
development. The consultation will run for eight weeks and will
close on 21st March 2023. If taken forward, both
proposals would require changes in legislation when Parliamentary
time allows.
A copy of the consultation document and two related impact
assessments will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and
are available on GOV.UK.
The Government is also announcing a package of measures to
strengthen how police forces in England and Wales tackle serious
and organised crime and protect our communities from harm. The
approach is being led jointly by the Home Office and the National
Police Chiefs Council’s Serious and Organised Crime Lead, with
implementation supported by the Association of Police and Crime
Commissioners, the National Crime Agency, the College of Policing
and the Local Government Association.
We are investing around £2million to support the roll-out of
‘Clear, Hold, Build’, which is an evidence-based, end-to-end
local partnership approach that will reduce serious and organised
crime in the highest harm hot-spot areas in England and Wales.
This includes new serious and organised crime community
coordinators in the Regional Organised Crime Units to support
police forces to deliver the most effective and efficient
partnership response and a performance management and information
system to enhance police forces’ ability to understand, capture
and respond to their local serious and organised crime threat.
Later this year the Government also plans to publish a new
strategy to update the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy which
was published in 2018.
