Main benefits
- Making our streets safer.
- Preventing crimes against the vulnerable.
- Shutting down criminal and exploitative markets.
- Getting justice for victims and their families.
Main elements
- Making families take responsibility for children's anti-social behaviour by introducing a mandatory assessment of parenting needs whenever a 10 to 15-year-old is being considered for an ASBO (Ant-Social Behaviour Order), and imposing parenting orders where the young person has breached their ASBO.
- Enabling police to spend more time tackling crime in our communities by reducing the amount of information being recorded on lengthy stop and search forms.
- Tackling domestic violence with 'Go orders' to allow police to bar a suspected perpetrator from their homes for a fixed period of time even if they are not charged, empowering victims to feel safe in their own homes rather than seeking refuge elsewhere.
- Preventing tragic accidents involving airguns by ensuring these dangerous weapons are safely stored and out of the reach of children, by introducing a legal requirement to do so.
- Introducing an additional criminal offence under the Prison Act 1952 for designed or adapted for use with a mobile phone device (component part, or article designed or adapted for use with a mobile phone device), within a prison without authorisation.
- Introducing a compulsory licensing scheme for all wheel clamping businesses, limiting the size of penalties imposed, regulating towing practices and putting in place an effective and fair appeals process.
- Ensuring the right people are on our DNA database by indefinitely retaining the DNA records of convicted offenders and holding the DNA of adults who are arrested, but not charged, for six years.
- Protecting the public by allowing police to take DNA samples and fingerprints at any time post conviction for a serious crime, and to take them from serious violent and sexual offenders returning to the UK following conviction overseas.
Dods commentary
The Crime and Security Bill includes new measures on the retention of DNA profiles and stronger powers to tackle antisocial behaviour.
The legislation covers a range of anti-crime measures including scrapping lengthy stop and search forms, compulsory licensing for private wheel clamping businesses and new rules on the retention of DNA data of the innocent.
Focus will remain on tackling anti-social behaviour ensuring that parental assessments are carried out on every child aged 10 to 15 years who are considered for an ASBO, and for automatic parenting orders to be implemented on teens that breach the order.
Home secretary Alan Johnson recently pledged more support for victims, preventing crimes towards the vulnerable, through tough local action.
A key aspect of the Bill is the requirement for sexual or serious offenders convicted before 2004 or convicted abroad to add their details to the DNA database.
Johnson announced in November a series of proposals to ensure the "right people" were on the National DNA Database, with data for most innocent people arrested in England, Wales and Northern Ireland not being kept for more than six years.
Measures were unveiled including new guidance for police forces, senior backbenchers, alongside Conservatives and Liberal Democrats made clear they did not believe the climbdown on DNA went far enough.
The Conservatives will oppose the measures arguing that the Scottish model of storing data for up to 5 years for serious violent and sexual offences would be sufficient.
Shadow Home Office minister James Brokenshire said the government had dragged its feet, "despite being told that their approach is unlawful" on the growth of the DNA database.
He said that in contrast, the Conservatives have set out a "workable approach to deal with the issue, balancing personal freedom against community safety".
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said the proposals were "little better than the previous plans for hoarding innocent people's DNA which were thrown out by Parliament".
He added: "The random growth of the world’s largest DNA database has to stop by removing innocent people from it immediately.”
Plans to tackle domestic violence with 'Go orders' would allow the police to bar a suspected perpetrator from their homes for a fixed period of time even if they are not charged, empowering victims to feel safe in their own homes.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) called on the government to produce a domestic violence register of 25,000 serial offenders as part of a Home Office review of how to deal with abuse and violence against women and girls.
Sandra Horley, chief executive of domestic violence charity Refuge, said Acpo seemed to be missing the point by failing to ensure women were protected as soon as abuse became apparent.
She said: "As it stands, almost three-quarters of abused women do not report the abuse they suffer to the police at all - and many feel they have been badly let down by the system."
The Bill also includes measures for prisoners who get hold of mobile phones whilst in prison to face prosecution.
Progress
House of Commons
1streading: 19 November 2009 [HC Bill 3]
2nd reading: 18 January 2010
Committee stage:
- 1st sitting: 26 January 2010 (am)
- 2nd sitting: 26 January 2010 (pm)
- 3rd sitting: 28 January 2010 (am)
- 4th sitting: 28 January 2010 (pm)
- 5th sittinig: 2 February 2010 (am)
- 6th sitting: 2 February 2010 (pm)
- 7th sitting: 4 February 2010 (am)
- 8th sitting: 4 February 2010 (pm)
- 9th sitting: 9 February 2010 (am)
- 10th sitting: 9 February 2010 (pm)
- 11th sitting: 23 February 2010 (am)
- 12th sitting: 23 February 2010 (pm)
Report stage: 8 March 2010
3rd reading: 8 March 2010
House of Lords
1st reading: 9 March 2010
2nd reading: 29 March 2010
Committee stage: 7 April 2010
Report stage: 7 April 2010
3rd reading: 7 April 2010
Royal Assent: 8 April 2010
