Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022

Since 2019, there have been significant direct action campaigns by pressure groups in the UK. In April and October 2019, large protests were held by Extinction Rebellion, and the Black Lives Matter movement held large protests in the summer of 2020. In Autumn 2021, significant protests were conducted by Insulate Britain.

Some of these protests have involved disruptive direct action.[4][5][6] The bill can be viewed as in response to Extinction Rebellion protests, whose activists used adhesives to attach themselves to public transport vehicles. In June 2020, the statue of philanthropist and slave trader Edward Colston was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest. The statue was a Grade II listed structure, although four individuals charged with criminal damage for removing the statue were found not guilty at Bristol Crown Court on January 5, 2022. Activists from Insulate Britain have used adhesives to attach themselves to the road surface at entrances to the M25 Motorway.

The new methods of direct action have been controversial. An opinion poll by YouGov in October 2019 found that 36% of those surveyed supported disruption to public transport by Extinction Rebellion, whilst 54% opposed.[7] In one instance, members of the public removed the protesters from a train at Canning Town Underground Station. A YouGov poll in October 2019 found that 63% of those surveyed sympathised more with the commuters than the protestors, and 13% sympathised more with the protestors.[8] In June 2020, a survey by Policy Exchange found that 25% of people are in favour of removing statues of individuals who earned significant wealth from the Transatlantic Slave Trade, whilst 65% believe that the statues should continue to stand.[9] Opinion polling conducted by YouGov from 5–6 October 2021 found that 72% of those surveyed opposed the actions of Insulate Britain activists, with 18% supporting the actions, and 10% that did not know.[10]

According to the UK Government "the National Police Chief’s Council have expressed concerns that existing public order legislation is outdated and no longer appropriate for responding to the highly disruptive protest tactics used by some groups today".[11] The government have further stated that "the measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will improve the police’s ability to manage such protests, enabling them to balance the rights of protesters against the rights of others to go about their daily business, and to dedicate their resources to keeping the public safe".[11]

The Act was enacted in April 2022 and includes major proposals by the Johnson government to reform the criminal justice system.[12][13] As criminal justice is largely a devolved matter, the provisions of the Act primarily only extend to England and Wales, although some provisions apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland.[14]

Provisions in the Act include allowing judges to give whole life orders (life imprisonment with no possibility of parole) for the premeditated murder of a child, life sentences for drivers who kill behind the wheel, and increasing the maximum sentence from 3 months to 10 years for criminal damage to a memorial.[15]

The Act expands police powers allowing officers widespread access to private education and health care records, and suspicionless stop and search.[16]

It contains trespass provisions, which make "residing on land without consent in or with a vehicle" a criminal offense. Under the new offence, a person can be criminalised for disobeying the instruction of a private citizen, which does not even have to be made in writing.[16] Following the bill's first defeat, the government added an amendment that would repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824, described as "offensive and outdated".[17] Harper's Law was also included in the Bill.[18]

The bill was welcomed by the Police Federation of England and Wales.[21] In contrast, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, a group of elected officials in England and Wales, registered their disagreement with the bill. On the topic of proposed legally-binding restrictions on protests, Paddy Tipping, Chair of the APCC, stated: "I think politicians would be wise to leave decisions to the responsible people." Tipping added that "they've got to leave people to make local decisions in local circumstances."[22] Michael Barton and Peter Fahy, the former chief constables of Durham Constabulary and Greater Manchester Police respectively, said in March 2021 that the law threatened civil liberties and constituted a politically-motivated move towards paramilitary policing.[23]

The advocacy group Liberty claimed the bill "threatens protest".[24] Broadcaster and writer Kenan Malik warned the bill reduced the right to protest to "whispering in the corner".[25] David Blunkett called it an "anti-protest bill" threatening to make Britain look like Putin's Russia.[26]

As of January 2022, despite initial "Kill the Bill" protests by grass-roots groups no mass movement opposing this bill has come together.[16]

Protest in Bristol, March 2021

Thousands of protestors against the bill gathered in College Green in Bristol city centre on Sunday, 21 March 2021, in violation of COVID-19 restrictions.[27] Some held placards reading "Kill the Bill" amongst other slogans. The protestors marched through the city centre without intervention, before a confrontation between police and a few hundred protestors staging a sit-in at Bridewell Police Station led to an outbreak of violence in which, it was claimed, two assaulted police officers were left with serious injuries.[28][29] Police then retracted this statement after a statement from a police spokesperson falsely claimed officers were injured. [30] Police vehicles were set alight and protestors were visually recorded attempting to set fire to a police vehicle with officers inside.[31] Protestors set off fireworks, and the police station was graffitied and damaged by protesters.[32][28] Avon and Somerset Police retracted claims on 25 March that any officers suffered broken bones or punctured lungs.[33][34] There was also controversy over the alleged assault of Daily Mirror journalist Matthew Dresch on 26 March, as video footage showed him being pushed and hit with a baton while stating that he was a journalist, which police appeared to acknowledge, as well as a woman in her 20s. Later a high-ranking officer with Avon and Somerset "extended apologies" for the incident.[35]

As of March 12, 2022, fourteen people had been convicted of involvement in the attack on police.[36]

"Kill the Bill" protest in Leicester, April 2021

Subsequent "Kill the Bill" protests were held in Bristol on Tuesday 23 March[37] and Friday 26 March,[38] and in Manchester and Sheffield[39] on 27 March 2021.[40]

The bill's second reading was on 15–16 March 2021,[45] by 359 votes to 263.[46][47] As of 30 April, the bill had passed to the committee stage for consideration by the public bill committee. The committee was due to report back to Parliament by 24 June.[48] The Big Issue subsequently claimed that this date was delayed, partly due to pressure from protests.[49] The third reading of the bill was agreed to by the House of Commons on 5 July 2021 by 365 votes to 265, a majority of 100.[50] On December 15, 2021, the House of Lords continued the report stage after accepting a number of amendments.[51]

On January 17, 2022, the Bill came up for debate in the House of Lords amid widespread protests.[52] The Lords subsequently rejected many of the bill's key provisions, with one peer branding the restrictions on protests "repressive" and "nasty".[53] The bill then went back to the Commons to be discussed and amended.[54]

In February 2022, the Commons once again voted in favour of the bill, although several MPs expressed concerns over the restrictions on protests.[55] On March 22, the House of Lords once again rejected the proposed legislation and demanded that the restrictions on protests be removed, sending the bill back to the House of Commons.[56][57]

On 26 April 2022, the House of Lords passed the bill by 180 votes to 133.[58]

On 28 April 2022, the Act received Royal Assent.[59][60]

• Nationality and Borders Bill

• Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, including the full text of the most recent version, from Parliament.uk