On November 14, 2023, the Criminal Justice Bill was introduced in the United Kingdom’s House of Commons. The bill sets forth a number of police powers, new offenses, and court powers that aim to help increase safety in England and Wales and meet the government’s zero tolerance approach to crime and antisocial behavior. Notably, the bill would:
- Provide the police with greater powers to address knife crime, theft, drugs and antisocial behavior.
- Provide police with the power to enter private residences or public spaces without a warrant to search for and retrieve stolen goods where there are reasonable grounds to believe these items are on the premises.
- Prohibit equipment used to steal vehicles, such as signal jammers.
- Provide police with more powers to test suspects for additional drugs upon their arrest or after they have been charged with a crime.
- Provide police with the power to seize, retain, and destroy knives found on private property when it is determined they would likely be used in the commission of an offense.
- Enable the secretary of state to transfer prisoners to be housed in prisons located overseas.
Judges would be provided with the power to require those convicted of offenses punishable with up to life imprisonment to attend court during their sentencing hearing so they can hear victims’ statements. The court could order that the offender be produced for this hearing and that reasonable force could be used if necessary. Refusing to attend would be treated as criminal contempt and result in an additional two years’ imprisonment.
Several new offenses would be created under the bill. These include the offenses of:
- Encouraging or assisting serious self-harm.
- Taking intimate images or video, or installing equipment to take intimate images or video, without consent.
- Possessing a knife with the intent to use it violently.
- Possessing, importing, making, adapting, or supplying templates used in 3D printers for firearms, pill presses, and vehicle concealments designed to conceal goods or people.
- Nuisance begging and arranging or directing nuisance begging. Police would be granted additional powers to direct nuisance beggars to leave an area, and courts would be permitted to issue orders designed to prevent nuisance begging and sleeping in public.
Clare Feikert-Ahalt, Law Library of Congress
December 20, 2023
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