Crime and Policing Bill Update

Last year, I stood up in Parliament and spoke about the scourge of knife crime blighting communities up and down the country — not least here in South Ribble.

That’s why I’m pleased to see tougher action on knife crime set out in the new Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently at Report Stage in Parliament and will introduce measures such as:

🔪 Tackling Knife Crime

-Creating a power to seize, retain and destroy bladed articles found on private property.

-Increasing the maximum penalty for selling dangerous weapons to under-18s.

-Creating a new criminal offence for possessing a bladed article with intent to cause harm.

There’s a whole host of other measures in the Bill too, including:

🚨 Tackling Antisocial Behaviour

-Giving police and others stronger powers to tackle antisocial behaviour through new Respect Orders.

-Removing the need for police to issue a warning before seizing vehicles, such as off-road bikes, used antisocially.

-Strengthening existing powers and issuing guidance to councils on enforcing fly-tipping.

🚺 Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

-Creating new offences to criminalise taking or recording intimate images or videos without consent.

-Introducing a new offence covering spiking.

-Giving victims of stalking the right to know the identity of their perpetrator, alongside stronger Stalking Protection Orders and new guidance for agencies.

🛍️ Protecting Retail Workers

-Introducing a new offence for assaulting a retail worker, giving staff in shops the protection they deserve.

-Removing the law which makes shop theft under £200 a summary-only offence.

🧒 Protecting Vulnerable Children and Adults

-Making child criminal exploitation a specific offence, with new civil preventative orders to stop criminals exploiting children.

-Making ‘cuckooing’ (when criminals take over someone’s home) a specific offence.

-Extending existing exposure offences and creating a new child abduction offence.

🧑‍💻 Tackling Child Sexual Abuse

-Banning AI models designed to generate child sexual abuse material.

-Criminalising moderators and administrators of websites hosting such material.

-Giving Border Force officers powers to search digital devices for child sexual abuse material.

-Introducing a duty for adults in relevant roles to report suspected child sexual abuse.

-Adding a new statutory aggravating factor for grooming behaviour.

⚖️ New Powers to Tackle Serious Crime

-Banning the possession or distribution of electronic devices used in vehicle theft.

-Strengthening corporate criminal liability laws for modern corporations.

👮 Strengthening Offender Supervision

-Reforming how police manage registered sex offenders, including restricting name changes where there’s a risk.

-Giving probation officers powers to polygraph test more serious sexual and terrorism-related offenders.

⛲ New Public Order and Safety Powers

-Banning fireworks, flares and pyrotechnics at protests.

-Criminalising climbing specified war memorials — because such disrespect won’t be tolerated.

-Banning face coverings used to conceal identity at police-designated protests.

💷 Tackling Fraud and Economic Crime

-Prohibiting possession and supply of ‘SIM farms’ without a legitimate purpose.

-Reforming confiscation powers to strip criminals of ill-gotten gains.

-Introducing cost protections for law enforcement investigating kleptocrats and high-net-worth criminals.

🚓 Giving Police the Powers They Need

-Creating new powers for police to enter premises and seize electronically tracked stolen goods, from mobiles to farm machinery.

-Expanding the lawful reasons for law enforcement to access DVLA driver licence records.

💊 Tougher Action on Drugs

-Expanding police powers to drug test more suspects on arrest, this will also help more people into treatment and away from drugs.

🗂️ Enhancing Public Confidence in Policing

-Reforming how the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigates complaints and giving chief officers the right to appeal misconduct board decisions.

-Putting the IOPC’s victims’ right of review on a statutory footing.

🛡️ Updating Counter-Terrorism Powers

-Implementing recommendations from the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, including youth diversion orders to steer young people away from terrorist activity.