Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act

April was not a good month for hard-pressed criminal practitioners as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 was enacted with 209 sections and 21 schedules. An earlier article reviewed the controversial bail provisions of parts 1 and 2. This will complete the review of part 2 and look at parts 3 and 4. By 30 October the provisions mentioned here were in force, except the repeal of the Vagrancy Act 1824.

Part 2: prevention, investigation and prosecution of crime

There is an amendment to the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 with the effect that an offence of criminal damage by destroying or damaging a memorial is triable either way even if the value involved is small.

This amendment is a response to the pulling down of a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol (pictured) in 2020, and apparent threats to others in England and Wales, applying where the monetary value of such damage is £5,000 or less – the previous amount for which criminal damage had to be tried summarily. But parliament has decided that heavier sentences should be available to the courts. This may lead to more Crown court trials because protesters may gain more publicity there even though magistrates’ sentencing powers have been increased. That will not help the Crown court backlog.

Part 3: public order

Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 are amended to extend the circumstances in which the police can impose conditions on public processions and assemblies. These are, first, where a senior police officer has reasonable grounds to believe the noise made may have a significant impact on persons in the vicinity or may result in serious disruption to the activities of an organisation which is carried on in the vicinity. Second, the circumstances where a public procession or assembly may cause a serious disruption to the life of the community are extended to include where they may cause a significant delay to the delivery of a time-sensitive product or a prolonged disruption of access to essential goods or services. In addition, the police can now impose conditions that are necessary to prevent disorder, damage, disruption, impact or intimidation.  

The summary offences under sections 12 and 14 relating to the breaking of conditions imposed on a public procession or assembly are changed. An objective basis of fault is imposed, in that ‘at the time the person fails to comply with the condition the person knows or ought to know that the condition has been imposed’. The maximum penalties for the offences are increased from three to six months’ imprisonment in respect of organisers or persons who incite others to break conditions.

The Public Order Act 1996 is amended so that there is a new section 14ZA. This allows for the imposition of conditions on a person organising or carrying on one-person protests if it is reasonably believed that the noise caused by the protest may have a significant relevant impact on persons in its vicinity or that such noise may result in serious disruption to the activities of an organisation that are carried on in the vicinity of the protest. A summary offence is committed if a person fails to comply with a condition where that person knew or ought to have known that a condition was imposed. It is a defence to show that the failure was caused by circumstances beyond the person’s control.

The Vagrancy Act 1824, which is used to punish ‘idle and disorderly persons, and rogues and vagabonds’, will be repealed when section 81 of the act is brought into force. Repeal will not take place until appropriate replacement legislation is in place.

Part 4: unauthorised encampments

A new section 60C is inserted into the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. This creates a summary offence of residing in a vehicle on land ,or intending to do so, without consent where the person fails to leave the land or remove their property without reasonable excuse when asked to do so and they have caused or likely to cause ‘significant damage ’, ‘significant disruption’ or ‘significant distress’.

The 1994 act is also amended to extend the power of a senior officer to instruct trespassers who have a common purpose of residing on land to take their property and leave. This power is now exercisable where a senior officer has a reasonable belief that the trespassers have caused damage, disruption or distress, but unlike the existing offence this does not need to be ‘significant’ to trigger the power.  

This represents a further toughening up of the law against those with unorthodox lifestyles such as squatters, New Age travellers and Gypsies.

Conclusion

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act contains a formidable list of provisions, which represent a substantial crime-control agenda. The scale of the change makes the law more complex and harder to understand for practitioners and the courts. There are a further nine parts to the act which make major changes to, inter alia, cautions, sentencing and youth justice.   The act is controversial because it does not achieve the proper balance between the need to control crime and the competing interests of liberty and justice.

Simon Parsons is a solicitor (non-practising) and associate lecturer at Bath Spa University