Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill - What you need to know

Last week, sweeping reforms of the criminal justice system have been announced through the so-called ‘Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill’. The bill proposes several new measures to help cut crime and build safer communities across the nation. These reforms are part of the governments wider campaign to restore faith in the criminal justice system.  

So far, there has been a varied response from critics. With a large focus on safeguarding children, charities like the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) have welcomed the announcement. NSPCC CEO, Peter Wanless, said he was ‘delighted’ at the announcement and believed it was a landmark step for the UK justice system.   

Others have noted that many of the reforms involve increasing sentencing powers available to judges. This means, the Ministry of Justice’s claim that the reforms place “greater emphasis on rehabilitation to better help offenders to turn their lives around” is being called in to question.  

Overall, this bill aims to do four things: help protect young people; improve the court system; empower emergency services; and to help safeguard society.  

Protecting young people  

Arguably the biggest change in law will be the expansion of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Under this act, those in positions of trust such as doctors and teachers are prohibited from engaging in sexual relationships with 16- and 17-year-olds under their care.   

This new bill finally closes a loophole that has allowed other positions of trust and authority to be abused by predatory individuals. For the first time, sports coaches and faith leaders will be subject to the same rules as other professions. In light of recent investigations into child sexual abuse in sporting institutions across the UK, this is welcome news.   

Sentencing options for youth offenders have also been expanded. The new bill provides judges with a greater roster of non-custodial sentences, such as location monitoring and curfews. Reduction of custodial sentences in favour of alternatives could do a lot to combat youth reoffending rates.   

Further powers granted by this bill mean judges will be able to hand out Whole Life Orders (WLOs) to those convicted of the premeditated murder of a child.   

These sentencing reforms also mean WLOs can be imposed on 18- to 20-year-olds if deemed necessary based on the severity of their crime. This has been an area of significant focus due to the Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi missing the strictest jail time due to his age.  

This will be the first time since the Criminal Justice Act 2003 was passed that someone under the age of 21 can be issued with a WLO.   

Improving our courts  

There have been multiple changes to the rules governing courts that aim to improve accessibility and help with modernisation.   

For the first time, profoundly deaf individuals will be able to sit on an active jury. Previously, laws against having strangers present during jury deliberations have so far excluded the deaf from sitting on juries. The new bill allows a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter to be present. With 151,000 BSL users in the UK, this demonstrates a significant step forward in creating equal accessibility in our courts.  

New rules are also being introduced that ensure the court system is fully utilising audio-visual technology. Criminal courts will be allowed to utilise video conferencing technology to remove unnecessary travel requirements for those participating in court proceedings.   

The rules relating to video have also been extended to improve transparency in courts. The public will gain improved access to courts as observers. By utilising audio-visual technology members of the public will be able to view proceedings across most courts and tribunals in the country, remotely.  

Empowering emergency services  

Over the past few years, the government have repeatedly come under fire for lack of funding for our emergency services, particularly in regards to the police. This bill hopes to repair some of the damage done by austerity measures and better protect those in blue-light services.   

Maximum penalties for the assault of any member of our emergency services, frontline health workers and other roles such as prison officers, will be double from 12 months to 2 years.  

Police are to be given the power to seize vehicles and arrest trespassers who ‘intend to reside on any private or public land in vehicles without permission, and where they are causing significant disruption, distress or harm to local communities.   

The punishment for this offence can include up to a 3-month custodial sentence, a fine of up to £2,500, or both. The law will also add provisions stating that those who are moved on cannot return to that piece of land for at least 12 months.   

Although controversial, police have also been handed expanded ‘stop and search’ powers. Speaking to LBC, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, explained that police have been given more discretion on how to use stop and search against potential repeat offenders. He stated:  

“We know sadly that there are a number of people who, although they have been convicted for possession or use of an offensive weapon, go back into that cycle of offending.  

"I think it's important to give police officers the power to search people where they've got information that that person has got a previous conviction for that sort of offence."  

While the government maintain that stop and search and saves lives, it is likely that this change of legislation will meet fierce opposition as the police start using this power. 

Safeguarding society   

The purpose of any new legislation is to contribute to a safer, fairer society for everyone in the UK. The broad focus of this bill means that it tackles a number of issues raised by the public in recent years. For example, the maximum penalty for criminal damage of a memorial has increased from 3 months to 10 years.   

Lessons learned from past failures of interagency communication have also been targeted. The new bill outlines a legal responsibility for local authorities, emergency services and judicial bodies to share information. Effective data sharing measures can help all agencies in ongoing crime prevention efforts.  

Improving interagency communication is a big mission for this government, and can be seen in other recent legislative updates, such as the new Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards.   

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill seems to be a good starting point for reforming our criminal justice system but the government still have a long way to go to deliver on their manifesto promises.  For more information about this bill, you can find out more here.   

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