The Crime and Policing Act has over 70 measures including tougher police powers to crackdown on antisocial behaviour and retail crime by:

  • Introducing Respect Orders to enable the police to ban repeat offenders from town centres and other locations.
  • Removing the requirement for police to issue a prior warning before seizing any vehicle used in an anti-social manner.
  • Ending the outdated treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence so perpetrators can be punished properly.
  • Introducing a bespoke offence for assaulting a retail worker with a possible sentence of six months in prison.

New powers for police and the wider criminal justice system aim to restore confidence in policing and to tackle the epidemic of serious violence and violence against women and girls

These new measures will be underpinned by the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to deliver an additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers by the end of this parliament.

To tackle the epidemic of online stalking and to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm:

  • Helping police manage online stalkers and protect victims through new ‘Right to Know’ guidance on disclosing the identity of an online stalker to victims at the earliest opportunity.
  • More powers for courts to impose Stalking Protection Orders directly when a defendant is convicted or acquitted, to keep perpetrators away from victims and prevent further harm.
  • There will be a standalone offence of child criminal exploitation with a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and accompanying orders which will allow courts to intervene early to prevent children from being harmed.
  • The Act introduces a new criminal offence of cuckooing (home takeover for illegal activity) with a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.
  • It is also introducing a new offence for internal concealment of drugs and other specified items including forcing individuals to hide items inside their bodies.

The Act has also introduced further laws around the sale of knives online as the government aims to halve knife crime in a decade:

  • Tech bosses will have personal criminal liability for failing to act on illegal knife and weapons content on their platforms resulting in a total fine of up to £70,000 for each offence.
  • There will be a mandatory two-step verification for online knife purchases at both point of sale and delivery using photographic ID
  • Retailers are legally required to report any bulk purchases of bladed articles made online, to tackle organised crime.
  • There is a new offence of possession of a knife with intent to cause unlawful violence with a sentence of up to seven years in prison.

With the Crime and Policing Act now law, John Hayward-Cripps, Chief Executive of Neighbourhood Watch said:  “The nature of crime has changed considerably, and major police reform is needed to keep pace. Greater focus on and investment in police capacity, particularly neighbourhood policing, has been needed for a long time.  People want to feel safe and to have greater trust in law enforcement. So it is reassuring for our members and the wider public to see that the Government is listening to these concerns and is willing to act.”