Legal update - The UK Government’s Crime and Policing Bill

The Crime and Policing Bill is expected by the Government to fulfil one of its five headline missions to take back our streets, as set out in Labour’s manifesto.

As Parliament reconvenes in October, all eyes are on the potential shift in approach towards tackling crime under a new Government at a time when it is also wrestling with overcrowded prisons, stretched public services and a degree of public mistrust in the police force.

This may require a multi-faceted approach to tackling the rates of violent offences, alongside addressing the root causes that contribute to anti-social behaviour and violence.

Given the limited Parliamentary time since the change in Government, we are yet to see whether the Government’s approach will resemble the ‘tough on crime and tough on causes of crime’ stance previously adopted by New Labour. However, the Crime and Policing Bill may start building the foundations for legislative changes.

In line with the Government’s mission to ‘halve serious violence over a decade’, the legislation will:

• Bolster community policing powers by enabling officers to more effectively tackle antisocial behaviour in public areas.
• Reform policing standards, and recruitment vetting processes.
• Increase police presence on local streets.
• Ban the sale of dangerous weapons, such as ninja swords and zombie knives, which can be bought online.
• Focus on reducing low-value shoplifting and implementing harsher penalties for those convicted.

Under the previous Conservative Government, a Criminal Justice Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 14 November 2023. This aimed to: ‘give police more powers to tackle knife crime, antisocial behaviour, theft and drugs’.

However, this Bill struggled at Committee Stage due to the contentious nature of some amendments and was unable to move beyond Report Stage in the Commons before a UK General Election was called, along with the subsequent dissolution of Parliament. Parts of this Bill have been resurrected by the new Government in the Crime and Policing Bill.

Crime and Policing Bill under the Labour Government

Although the Crime and Policing Bill has not yet been introduced to Parliament, it may be a priority for government before the end of 2024.

The Bill, set to apply to England and Wales, is described by the Government as part of its mission to reduce serious violence by half and boost public confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.

At present, Scotland does not have a piece of legislation which directly mirrors this Bill, however, it has sought to address concerns around policing standards through the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) Bill. This particular Bill aims to promote greater transparency in complaints and misconduct processes, as well as requiring the police to create a clear Code of Ethics.

While granting police greater powers, the new Government also plans to implement reforms to ensure law enforcement agencies maintain high performance standards, with a strong emphasis on frontline policing.

The Bill is expected to support home secretary Yvette Cooper's initiative to recruit neighbourhood and community support officers to patrol town centres and residential areas. According to the manifesto, each resident will have a designated officer they can contact when issues arise.

Key measures in the Bill will include expanding the authority of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services to intervene in underperforming police forces, as well as introduce stricter national vetting standards across all police forces.

To combat antisocial behaviour, the legislation will introduce new Respect Orders for persistent adult offenders. It will also create a duty for local partners to collaborate in tackling antisocial behaviour, with each local authority required to appoint an antisocial behaviour lead.

The Bill will contain tougher measures to address ‘low-level shoplifting’, including making assaulting a shopworker a standalone offence, in line with Scotland.

According to ACS, there has been ‘a huge increase in violent incidents committed against retailers and their colleagues. Over the last year, there have been around 76,000 incidents of violence in shops compared to 41,000 in the 2023 Crime Report’.

Knife crime will be another focus of the legislation, with provisions to ban ninja swords and other lethal blades.

Additionally, the legislation will seek to protect young people from being lured into criminal activity and gangs by strengthening laws around child criminal exploitation. It will establish Young Futures prevention partnerships to coordinate services for youth at risk of offending, with a particular focus on tackling knife crime and address mental health issues among young people.

Further, provisions will ensure police have the resources to respond forcefully to domestic abuse, rape, and other sexual offences, along with changes to improve police responses to incidents of spiking.

The intention is for the Bill to work alongside holistic and pre-emptive initiatives such as the recently announced Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime and the upcoming review into the sale of knives to under 18’s, set to conclude by the end of the year.