Key Facts

• Copies of written evidence will be made available in the Committee Room and circulated to Members by email.
• Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, provided oral evidence on misconduct and disciplinary processes for officers as outlined in Clause 74 of the Bill.
• The Bill includes antisocial behaviour provisions, particularly around rough sleeping and nuisance issues.
• There is an estimated £3 billion cash deficit in policing requiring careful resourcing decisions.
• Community safety partnerships are crucial for addressing issues like rough sleeping in conjunction with local authorities.
• Police received over a quarter of a million reports of retail theft in 2022-23.
• There has been a 29% rise in the number of arrests related to retail crime.
• Chief Constable Stephens is concerned about the limits on adding separate assault offences for specific groups like teachers and councillors.
• Chief Constable Stephens discusses the need for additional emphasis through sentencing when it comes to assaulting shop workers.
• There is concern about the rise of drink spiking over recent years.
• The Bill includes a provision allowing police to seize knives if they suspect the knives will be used in criminality (clause 18).
• Chief Constable Stephens welcomes these provisions as beneficial for tackling knife crime.
• The National Crime Agency seized 17 3D-printed firearms last year and 25 this year.
• In 2021, there were almost 1,500 drug deaths in the UK from benzodiazepine overdoses.
• A raid resulted in the seizure of 40 million pills being supplied up to Scotland.
• The NCA seized 438 vehicles over three years, with about 150 at borders due to concealment issues.
• The drafting for serious and organised crime articles covers both possession and supply.
• Childlike sexual abuse dolls are currently not an offence to possess in the UK but could be added via secondary legislation.
• Facial recognition searches across DVLA records would aid law enforcement.
• Possession of a weapon with intent to use unlawful violence is seen as a helpful addition.
• Serious Crime Prevention Orders are used frequently after Crown court trials but less so as stand-alone measures in the High Court due to costs and standards of proof.
• The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 has been transformative but complex.
• Schedule 4 is 38 pages long and contains extensive provisions.
• Amendments could help enforce deadlines for those subject to confiscation orders, penalizing non-compliance.
• The discussion is part of the Public Bill Committee meeting for the Criminal Justice Bill.
• Hannah Bardell manages the timing and relevance of questions asked during the session.
• She reminds MPs to focus their questions within the scope of the Bill.
• The Bill proposes compulsory attendance at sentencing hearings.
• Prisoners could be transferred to foreign prisons under new legislation.
• Extradition involves state-to-state agreements, complicating third-party transfers.
• Baroness Newlove is Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales.
• Nicole Jacobs is Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales.
• The meeting discussed various provisions in the Criminal Justice Bill, including sentencing recommendations, MAPPA improvements, police misconduct, and antisocial behaviour recognition.
• Clare Wade's review recommended including key contexts in sentencing for domestic abuse.
• Non-fatal strangulation is one of the most common ways people are murdered in domestic homicide cases but is not included in the Bill.
• About 75,000 people who have committed domestic abuse are supervised under MAPPA arrangements.
• Only one in five victims will disclose to the police, yet there are perpetrators causing high harm outside criminal justice system.
• The Home Affairs Committee and the Casey review highlight issues with how police misconduct has been handled.
• Refuge's freedom of information request showed that warrant cards are removed only about 25% of the time in police forces for misconduct cases.
• Police officers are most frequently called to attention by the Independent Office for Police Conduct for sexual misconduct and violence.
• According to the Office for National Statistics, there are 2.3 million domestic abuse incidents annually.
• Only one in five of these incidents get reported to the police.
• The conviction figure on coercive control was 564 last year.
• MAPPA only affects perpetrators over 12 months old.
• The number of victims affected by this Bill is under 100.
• Hannah Bardell thanks Baroness Newlove and Nicole Jacobs for their evidence.
• The Committee will meet again at 2 pm in the Boothroyd Room.