Key Facts

• New clause 19 aims to criminalise cuckooing, where criminals take over a vulnerable person's home for illegal activities.
• The new clause does not require proof of duress or coercion in its current drafting.
• Existing laws such as sections 44-46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 provide protection against encouraging or assisting criminal activities.
• Aggravated trespass under section 68 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act could also apply to cases involving intimidation.
• The maximum penalty for dealing class A drugs in someone else's house is life imprisonment.
• Under the Modern Slavery Act, the maximum sentence for making another person a victim of modern slavery is also life imprisonment.
• The maximum penalty for participating in organized crime group activities under section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 is five years.
• Section 92 of the Street Offences Act 1959 is amended to allow disregarding convictions or cautions for certain sexual offenses.
• New clause 44 makes it an offence to facilitate or profit from prostitution, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on indictment.
• New clause seeks to replace 'controlling prostitution for gain' with 'sexual exploitation of an adult'.
• In 2015, Serious Crime Act replaced terms like 'child prostitute' with 'sexual exploitation of a child'.
• Mina's case highlights the sudden change in perception from victim to consensual participant at age 18.
• Fiona Broadfoot has 39 convictions for soliciting and loitering dating back to the 1980s.
• In 2021, only 302 cases of soliciting for prostitution were recorded by police compared to over 15,739 in 1989.
• Some forms of pimping are still legal in the UK.
• Pimping websites make millions of pounds advertising people for prostitution.
• Traffickers can advertise their victims nationally through these sites.
• One website allows single individuals to advertise multiple women for prostitution simultaneously using a single contact number.
• A trafficker spent £25,000 advertising on a pimping website, exploiting at least 11 young Romanian women.
• New clause 23 aims to replace 'controlling prostitution for gain' with 'sexual exploitation of an adult'.
• The STAGE project's work highlights barriers faced by women in accessing justice due to lack of a statutory definition.
• Criminal records from soliciting offences can prevent victims from getting certain jobs and support for decades.
• Section 1 of the Street Offences Act 1959 enables police to divert individuals from prosecution to alternative interventions.
• In the year to March 2023, 301 soliciting crimes were recorded, with only around 10% resulting in charges or summons.
• Spent convictions are now being removed from criminal records under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.
• The new clause aims to amend section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
• In the year ending December 2022, 7,936 referrals were made for potential victims of exploitation taking place solely in the UK.
• Almost two thirds (2,534) of British victims are children exploited for criminality.
• The clauses amend section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
• New Clause 31 introduces a statutory defence for adult victims of domestic abuse who use force against their abuser under specific conditions.
• New Clause 32 extends this protection to individuals aged under 18, providing them with legal defense if they commit an offence as a direct consequence of being or having been a victim of domestic abuse.
• Schedule lists offenses such as false imprisonment, kidnapping, manslaughter, murder, and perverting the course of justice.
• It includes specific sections from various Acts like Offences Against the Person Act 1861, Explosive Substances Act 1883, and Public Order Act 1936.
• The schedule also covers offenses under modern legislation such as Terrorism Act 2006 and Modern Slavery Act 2015.
• In 2017, there was a promise for a root and branch review of how women are treated in the criminal justice system which never happened.
• New clauses 31 and 32 aim to introduce legal protections for survivors of domestic abuse who are coerced into offending or act in self-defence against their abusers.
• The proposed statutory defences would be modelled on section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, providing similar protections as victims of human trafficking.
• Clare Wade KC conducted a domestic homicide review commissioned by the Government.
• A further review is being undertaken by the Law Commission to examine defences for women who kill their abusive partners.
• The Law Commission's review is due to conclude later in 2023, specifically by summer.
• New clause 31 addresses the householder defence in homicide scenarios.
• New clause 32 aims to create a statutory defence for victims of domestic abuse who commit offences due to coercion or duress.
• The case Stevens v. Director of Public Prosecutions is cited as an example where a woman's defense based on duress was not accepted by the court.
• There were 68,109 rapes reported in England and Wales between July 2022 and June 2023.
• Only 2.2% of reported rape cases resulted in charges being brought by the end of that period.
• Specialist teams would be provided with proper training and guidance on investigating serious sexual offences.
• Operation Soteria has been rolled out nationally.
• Police are referring three times more cases to CPS for charging decisions than in 2016.
• The government is recruiting 2,000 RASO specialists across England and Wales by April 2024.
• The Telegraph reported on 'porch pirates' last December.
• A freedom of information request to UK police forces revealed an average stolen parcel value of £115.07, with up to 5.5 million parcels stolen annually, potentially worth £630 million.
• Only fewer than 0.002% of parcel thefts are reported to the police.
• The new clause builds on previous legislation by securing an aggravating factor in sentencing for assaulting shop workers.
• Shop workers face about 1,000 incidents of violence or abuse daily according to USDAW's Paddy Lillis.
• Retail workers have been asked to restrict the sale of items like cigarettes, alcohol, knives, and acids.
• Crime has increased over the past year or two in both shoplifting and assaults on retail workers.
• The Government published a retail crime action plan last autumn with commitments from policing.
• Police are expected to investigate all retail crimes, retrieve CCTV footage, and run it through facial recognition databases.
• The retail crime action plan includes more police attendance, targeting prolific offenders using facial recognition, and Operation Pegasus funded by retailers.
• Police and retailers will meet every three months to hold police accountable for delivering the action plan.
• New clause 41 targets only common assault against retail workers but does not cover other serious forms of assault.
• The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 made it a statutory aggravating factor for judges to consider longer sentences when victims are public-facing workers.
• Chief Constable Gavin Stephens stated that creating a bespoke offence would not change police response to assaults on retail workers as they are already criminal offences.
• The MP refers to the retail crime action plan and expresses willingness to keep an eye on the issue but does not accept new clause 41 at this time.
• The new clause aims to create an offence category for 'One Punch Manslaughter'.
• Current sentences for similar cases average around four years.
• Recent sentences have been as low as two years.
• The family of a victim in Grantham described the impact of a one-punch assault.
• In Donington, a 47-year-old died after a single-punch attack with the perpetrator jailed for three years.
• A man in Maldon suffered brain damage and died after an unprovoked punch, sentenced to four years and eight months.
• Australia passed legislation on one-punch assaults in September 2014.
• New clause 50 addresses one-punch manslaughter.
• The unlawful act set out in the new clause requires a single punch to the head or neck and involves a 'significant risk' of harm, setting a higher evidential threshold than current law.
• There are concerns about creating inconsistencies in sentencing under existing homicide laws.
• The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is proposed to be amended.
• New clause 51 seeks to include disability, sexual orientation, and transgender identity as protected characteristics in hate crime legislation.
• Over 145,000 cases of hate crime were reported in 2022-23, with significant increases since 2011-12 across various categories including racial (200% increase), religious (433%), sexual orientation (493%), and transgender identity (1,263%).
• The Government published their response to the review of the Computer Misuse Act last November.
• Further work is required to ensure any amendments do not inadvertently create loopholes or defenses for cyber-criminals.
• The CPS applies a public interest test before proceeding with prosecutions in cases involving legitimate cyber-security activity.
• The new schedule makes provision for domestic offence notification orders and service offence notification orders.
• Conditions must be met for an authorised person to make an application to a court for these orders.
• Notification requirements apply based on the type of offence, its severity, and whether it has a terrorist connection.
• The Committee has sat for 16 sessions including evidence sessions.
• They have considered 53 new clauses and debated around 80 clauses in total.
• Chris Philp thanks his colleagues, shadow Ministers, and officials from multiple Departments for their contributions.