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A new bill that aims to tackle retail and street crime is set for its first reading in the House of Commons today (25 February), with the hopes of introducing tougher measures to tackle retail crime and other offences. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Crime and Policing bill, which is set to become law later this year, would help take back “our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order”.
As well as a new offence for assaulting shop workers, the bill will repeal an earlier law that said any shoplifting of items worth less than £200 would be automatically treated as a less serious crime.
In addition, police will be given the power to enter and search a property without a court warrant for a stolen mobile phone and other electronically tracked items, such as laptops or Bluetooth-tagged bikes.
Meanwhile, new ‘Respect Orders’ outlined in the bill will give the police and local councils powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres or from drinking in public spots such as high streets and local parks. These will be piloted prior to a national rollout to “make sure they are as effective as possible”.
Perpetrators can also be required to address the root cause of their behaviour by being mandated to undertake rehabilitation, such as attending drug or alcohol treatment services, or an anger management course. Failure to comply with Respect Orders will be a criminal offence.
Police will also be given stronger powers to seize vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing the vehicles.
Children and vulnerable people who are exploited by gangs for criminal purposes will receive greater protection, with two new criminal offences set to be introduced by the government next week.
As announced last week, the bill will also introduce measures that mean online retailers selling knives will need to carry out more stringent age verification checks amid rising concerns over the standards for age and delivery checks.
As part of the new measures, retailers will be required to implement a mandatory two-step verification process and report customers who bulk-buy blades, to prevent them from being sold through unregulated channels.
Cooper said: “For too long communities have had to put up with rising town centre and street crime, and persistent antisocial behaviour, while neighbourhood police have been cut.
“And for years too little has been done to tackle the most serious violence of all including knife crime and violence against women and children. That is why the new Crime and Policing Bill is about taking back our streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order, and giving the police and local communities the support and tools they need to tackle local crime.”
