Press Release Search
Search for press releasesPolicing and Crime Bill: putting people first
18 December 2008
The bill contains measures to protect the public, increase police accountability and effectiveness, and tackle crime and disorder.
The new Policing and Crime Bill (new window) sets out the ways government will work with police to give a clear and powerful voice to the public, drive down crime, drive up public confidence and give local people more information and a bigger say in how their neighbourhood is policed.
Key measures
New measures include:
- strengthening legislation to clarify how police forces and authorities can work together by placing an explicit duty on police authorities to reflect their community’s priorities in their work
- creating a new role for HMIC to inspect the way in which police authorities carry out this requirement
- creating a new offence of paying for sex with a prostitute who is controlled for gain, alongside changes to loitering offences, kerb-crawling offences and brothel closure orders
- introducing a mandatory code of practice for alcohol retailers and a series of amendments to police powers to allow them to tackle young people drinking in public more effectively
- reclassifying lap dancing clubs so they require a sex establishment licence to give local people a say in their establishment and location
- widening the circumstances in which civil orders can be brought to restrict the activities of sex offenders and strengthen Foreign Travel Orders
- simplifying the authorisation procedures for Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act where there are collaborative arrangements between police forces to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of investigations
From April 2009, police authorities will face regular inspection to test that they are visible to their communities and improving public confidence.
They will benefit from increased training for members to help them to deliver these goals, and will be provided with new powers to write the performance appraisal of their chief constable and ensure that they are delivering for their community.
Home Secretary's statement
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, 'The public is our best weapon in fighting crime and this bill gives them the right to expect the police to focus on the crimes that matter to their community. Real progress has been made on reducing crime by more than a third over the last decade and the risk of becoming a victim of crime is at its lowest ever level.
'The measures in the new policing and crime bill will ensure that the police and local authorities tackle the issues that matter to you, such as alcohol related crime and disorder, prostitution and lap dancing clubs.'
More elements of the bill
Other measures include:
- introducing a more joined-up approach between airport security and policing through defining the role and funding of airport police where airport operators will pay for any dedicated police presence that they have agreed is required
- giving wider powers to UKBA officers to question travellers and require the production of passports and travel documents for customs purposes
- ensuring compliance with international mechanisms and conventions such as the Schengen Information System II (SIS II) and introduce more efficient systems and processes such as the provision of live links in certain extradition hearings
- making sure that those subject to football banning orders in England and Wales are also banned from attending regulated football matches in Scotland and Northern Ireland
- simplifying the process for employers seeking to check individuals applying for work (paid or unpaid) with children or vulnerable adults
- adding 'reducing re-offending' to the statutory responsibilities of crime and disorder reduction partnerships, and ensuring the Probation Service is a key partner.
Notes to editors
- Find out more about the Policing and Crime Bill on the Home Office police website (new window)
- Information on the Bill is also available on the UK Parliament website (new window).
- You can download the Policing Green Paper (new window).
- You can download our response to the Policing Green Paper (new window).
- You can download further information on the 2006 Independent Review of Airport Policing (new window).
- Download information about the asset recovery action plan (new window).
- Download information about the youth alcohol action plan (new window).
- Download the Casey Review, Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime.
- Download information on our Tackling the Demand for Prostitution Review (new window).
