Overview

The Crime and Policing Bill aims to strengthen laws relating to anti-social behaviour, offensive weapons, assault on retail workers, child criminal exploitation, cuckooing, sexual offences, stalking, and public order. It also enhances police powers, improves confiscation procedures, and addresses terrorism and national security concerns, while clarifying the criminal liability of organizations.

Description

This bill introduces several key measures. It creates "respect orders" for adults engaging in anti-social behavior, and clarifies the use of injunctions for young people and those involved in housing-related anti-social behavior. The maximum penalty for certain anti-social behavior fixed penalty notices is increased to £500. The bill also increases penalties for possessing offensive weapons, makes assaulting a retail worker a specific offense with mandatory criminal behavior orders in certain cases, and removes the value threshold for shoplifting cases going to Crown Court. Significant new measures are created to combat child criminal exploitation through prevention orders and increased border control measures.

The bill introduces a new offense for controlling another's home for criminal purposes ("cuckooing"). It strengthens laws around child sexual abuse, including creating offenses related to child sexual abuse image generators and imposing a mandatory duty to report suspected child sex offenses. New notification requirements are added for sex offenders regarding name changes and absences from home. The bill also enhances stalking protection orders, adding new powers relating to orders on acquittal and extending the provisions in the Sentencing Code. Finally, the bill introduces new offenses relating to administering harmful substances, encouraging serious self-harm, and concealing identities at protests, and increases police powers relating to internet protocol addresses, stolen goods, and drug testing in police custody. It also updates confiscation procedures and introduces provisions on the criminal liability of bodies corporate and partnerships.

Government Spending

The bill's impact on government spending is not explicitly stated in the provided text. The creation of new offenses and orders will likely increase enforcement and court costs, while the enhanced police powers may result in additional operational expenses. Conversely, measures to combat crime could potentially reduce the cost of crime-related incidents in the long term.

Groups Affected

• Individuals engaging in anti-social behavior: Subject to respect orders, injunctions, and increased fines.
• Retail workers: Better protected against assault, with increased penalties for offenders.
• Children: Greater protection from exploitation and abuse, with enhanced prevention orders and reporting requirements.
• Sex offenders: Subject to stricter notification requirements and greater scrutiny.
• Victims of stalking: Benefit from strengthened stalking protection orders.
• Protestors: Potentially subject to new offenses related to concealing identity.
• Police: Granted increased powers for investigation and enforcement.
• Organizations: Greater clarity on their criminal liability for offences committed by senior managers.
• Internet service providers: Potentially subject to orders to suspend IP addresses and domain names.

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