| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Amendment made: No. 65, in page 91, line 27, leave out lines 27 and 28 and insert—
(b) after “regulations under” there is inserted “section 6 or 17A or”'.— [Mr. Byrne.]
Amendments made: No. 66, in page 133, line 6, leave out paragraph 15.
No. 67, in page 133, line 29, at end insert—
‘Scotland: references to Secretary of State
In section 141 (Scotland: references to Secretary of State), in subsection (2), after “Secretary of State” there is inserted “in paragraph (b) of section 70(2), in paragraph (c) of section 93(4) and”.'.
No. 68, in page 134, leave out from line 25 to line 11 on page 135.
No. 69, in page 137, line 23, at end insert—
‘Credit against sentence for periods of remand in custody of persons extradited to UK
In section 101 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c.6) (detention and training orders: term of order, taking account of remands, etc), after subsection (12) there is inserted—
“(12A) Section 243 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (persons extradited to the United Kingdom) applies in relation to a person sentenced to a detention and training order as it applies in relation to a fixed-term prisoner, with the reference in subsection (2) of that section to section 240 being read as a reference to subsection (8) above.”
In section 243 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c.44) (persons extradited to the United Kingdom), in subsection (1), after “imposed” there is inserted “or he received that sentence”.
(1) Section 47 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c.53) (persons extradited to the United Kingdom) is amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (1), after “imposed” there is inserted “or he received that sentence”.
(3) After subsection (3) there is inserted—
“(3A) This section applies in relation to a person sentenced to a detention and training order as it applies in relation to a short-term or long-term prisoner, and as it so applies—
(a) the reference in subsection (2) above to section 67 of the 1967 Act shall be read as a reference to section 101(8) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; and
(b) the reference in that subsection to a relevant period shall be read as a reference to the period mentioned in the said section 101(8).”'.
No. 70, in page 137, leave out lines 25 to 29.
No. 71, in page 137, leave out from line 33 to line 6 on page 138.— [Mr. Byrne.]
Amendments made: No. 81, in page 139, line 35, at end insert—
‘ In section 37 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (duties of custody officer before charge), in subsection (7B)—
(a) for “released under subsection (7)(a)” there is substituted “dealt with under subsection (7)(a)”;
(b) after “he is being released” there is inserted “, or (as the case may be) detained,”.
(1) Section 37B of that Act (consultation with the Director of Public Prosecutions) is amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (1), for “released on bail under section 37(7)(a)” there is substituted “dealt with under section 37(7)(a)”.
(3) In subsection (4), for “shall give written notice” there is substituted “shall give notice”.
(4) After that subsection there is inserted—
“(4A) Notice under subsection (4) above shall be in writing, but in the case of a person kept in police detention under section
37(7)(a) above it may be given orally in the first instance and confirmed in writing subsequently.”
(5) In subsection (8), for paragraph (a) there is substituted—
“(a) when he is in police detention at a police station (whether because he has returned to answer bail, because he is detained under section 37(7)(a) above or for some other reason), or”'.
No. 72, in page 144, line 2, at end insert—
27A In section 94 of the Police Act 1997 (authorisations given in absence of authorising officer), for paragraph (a) of subsection (4) (meaning of “designated deputy”) there is substituted—
“(a) in the case of an authorising officer within paragraph (a) of section 93(5), means—
(i) the person who is the appropriate deputy chief constable for the purposes of section 12A(1) of the Police Act 1996, or
(ii) the person holding the rank of assistant chief constable designated to act under section 12A(2) of that Act;”.'.
No. 73, in page 144, line 13, at end insert—
‘Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (c.23)
29A In section 34 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (grant of authorisations in senior officer's absence), for paragraph (a) of subsection (6) (meaning of “designated deputy”) there is substituted—
“(a) in relation to the chief constable for a police force in England and Wales, means—
(i) the person who is the appropriate deputy chief constable for the purposes of section 12A(1) of the Police Act 1996, or
(ii) a person holding the rank of assistant chief constable who is designated to act under section 12A(2) of that Act;
(aa) in relation to the chief constable for a police force in Scotland, means—
(i) a person holding the rank of deputy chief constable and, where there is more than one person in the police force who holds that rank, who is designated as the officer having the powers and duties conferred on a deputy chief constable by section 5A(1) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967, or
(ii) a person holding the rank of assistant chief constable who is designated to act under section 5A(2) of that Act;”.'.
No. 74, in page 144, line 14, at end insert—
‘ In section 40 of the Police Reform Act 2002 (community safety accreditation schemes), subsection (7) is omitted.'.
No. 123, in page 149, line 25, at end insert—
‘Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c.4)
In section 8(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (appointment of Head and Deputy Head of Criminal Justice), in paragraph (b) (person appointed must be ordinary judge of Court of Appeal), for “an ordinary judge” there is substituted “a judge”.'.— [Mr. Byrne.]
Amendments made: No. 122, in page 151, line 14, column 2, at beginning insert—
No. 75, in page 151, line 27, at end insert—
‘Local Government Act 1972 (c.70) | Section 107(6).'. |
No. 76, in page 152, line 10, at end insert—
‘Section 40(7).'. |
No. 77, in page 152, line 38, at end insert—
‘Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) | In section 114(2), “, 6A(1)”.'. |
No. 78, in page 155, leave out lines 30 to 35.
No. 79, in page 155, leave out line 42.— [Mr. Byrne.]
Amendment made: No. 80, in title, line 4, after ‘others;' insert
‘to make provision about the supply to the police and others of information contained in registers of death;'.— [Mr. Byrne.]
Mr. Garnier: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You may well say that what I am about to do is to make a point of frustration, rather than a point of order. However, the frustration is not just mine; it is shared by the House as a whole. The whole of part 4 has not been discussed today, as a result of the tight timetable that the Government have imposed on the House. Is there any way in which you, Sir, can advise the other place that this House has been unable to do its duty to the Bill in relation to part 4, which deals not with just some ordinary issue of party political debate, but with a matter of great importance: the inspectorate of prisons and of other Government services? Could you tell your counterparts in the other place that they need to do an awful lot of work to ensure that this Bill receives the proper scrutiny that it deserves?
Mr. Speaker: It takes me all my time to advise this House, without extending my advice to the other place. The hon. and learned Gentleman will know that the programme motion was agreed on by the House, so I am bound by it. I know the frustration and difficulties to which he refers.
6.44 pm
Mr. Byrne: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
In concluding our debates on the measures before us, I want to put on the record my gratitude, and that of my Front-Bench colleagues, for the extraordinary contributions made by my right hon. Friends the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) and the Minister without Portfolio, and my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale, East (Paul Goggins), now Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. They advanced not only this Bill
but an entire agenda of security, peace and safety that is already making a substantive difference to the communities we serve. The Bill strengthens the spine of policing in this country in a new century. It contains measures that deal with international justice, national support, force effectiveness and command unit power, and which provide a new step up for neighbourhood policing.
Yesterday, in the space of one afternoon, I had the privilege of seeing how policing is changing across that entire domain. At the commendation ceremony led by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, the Home Secretary and I heard at first hand of the courage and devotion of officers in tackling an international threat that mobilised an entire country in response; that response was delivered through the force of the Metropolitan police. As I left that ceremony in the afternoon, I was lucky enough to meet Chief Superintendent Mark Ricketts, the borough commander of Barnet, and his neighbourhood officers, who, using the new investment in neighbourhood policing and new neighbourhood policing methods, in which we have put such trust and such investment, have cut crime in one ward by 17 per cent. in a year.
What unites these stories is the professionalism, innovation, dedication to duty and passion to change our community that lives and breathes in every serving officer in today’s police. This Bill gives strength to those men and women and the teams they serve in, at every level and in every area of their operations. The provisions in the Bill will, at one end of the spectrum, help combat the antisocial behaviour that is the scourge of many neighbourhoods and, at the other end, enhance international co-operation in the battle against 21st century crimes such as computer hacking.
Internationally, crime is changing. A new alliance between failed states and criminality will foster new threats to us. We must prepare and respond. The provisions of the Bill do not touch on arrangements between the US and the UK, but they do make important improvements to our extradition regime, which should, I believe, be welcomed by both sides of the House.
Much of the debate so far has been characterised, as we saw again this afternoon, by myths and misunderstandings about the arrangements, compounded by some currently high-profile, but individual cases. As ever, we are ready to have a rational debate on these issues, but it needs to be on the basis of the facts, not on spurious assertions.
Nationally, there is much more we must and will do to support police effectiveness. Key to the future will be the establishment of the National Policing Improvement Agency, which will drive improvements in policing. The agency will be police “owned” and led. The creation of the NPIA will deliver a rationalised and more dynamic national landscape. It will give the police service the capability to deliver the mission-critical priorities set out in the annual national community safety plan, including the rollout of neighbourhood policing and full implementation of the recommendations of the Bichard inquiry.
Regionally, there are measures that we must take if we are to respond to the findings of Her Majesty’s inspector of constabulary that too few forces have the resilience to tackle terrorism and organised crime. We cannot and will not fail to act in the light of those conclusions.
At times, the debate about police reform has overshadowed many of the proposals in the Bill. Of course, this Bill does not provide for the amalgamation of forces—for that we are following procedures set down by a previous Administration in the Police Act 1996. The amendments to schedule 2 adopted today, however, will help to ensure that strategic authorities can conduct their business effectively and that strategic forces have sufficient command resilience.
Locally, too, this Bill takes our agenda forward. The Bill will underpin much stronger partnerships in networks that make a difference, including networks with local communities. The accountability framework for police forces and their community safety partners will be rendered more robust and more responsive to the voice of the citizen.
We recognise that accountability is essential to the future effectiveness of the police. The Bill therefore seeks to strengthen the role of police authorities, first by ensuring that their members have the skills and experience necessary to undertake the challenging role that they perform and, secondly, by conferring on authorities an express duty to hold the chief officer to account.
The Bill will also strengthen the effectiveness of crime and disorder reduction partnerships, and their equivalent partnerships in Wales, in addressing local community safety priorities, and it will ensure that the citizen can raise areas of concern through the community call for action.
Finally, these changes frame the important stage for so many of us, which is the return of neighbourhood policing. These reforms are being implemented against the backdrop of our commitment to roll out neighbourhood policing in every community by April 2007. The embedding of neighbourhood policing teams will ensure that policing continues to be delivered locally, by officers and police staff working in local communities and responding to their community safety priorities.
The Bill will ensure that the police and the wider policing family have the powers they need to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour effectively. At neighbourhood level, community support officers will have a standard set of powers so that they can play their full part in neighbourhood policing. Safer communities cannot be achieved by the Government, or the police service, alone. Ultimately, people will feel safe and secure only when everyone behaves in a respectful way. That is why the drive behind the respect campaign is so important, and I am therefore very pleased that the Bill takes forward some of the key measures in the respect action plan. I am very glad that many of the Bill’s provisions, such as the new truancy power for CSOs, the community call for action and the extension of parenting contracts and orders, have been broadly welcomed.
Finally, let me underline that, by making these changes, we wish to strengthen the tripartite relationship that so distinguishes the British service. It has always been the responsibility of Government to set the overall framework and the strategic priorities for policing. That is the Home Secretary’s traditional role in the tripartite relationship. We seek to make the Government as effective a partner as possible in that relationship in future, but we want all partners in the tripartite relationship to be equipped to fulfil their role in meeting the challenge of delivering the high-quality policing that the public rightly expect and deserve.
I very much welcome the good-natured contributions made by the hon. Members for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert) and for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone). I know that the Minister without Portfolio would want to associate herself with those sentiments. We have improved the Bill during our deliberations, and I have no hesitation in commending it to the House and wishing it a speedy passage in another place.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |