• Research Briefing

    Police (Detention and Bail) Bill

    This Research Paper has been prepared for the Commons stages of the Police (Detention and Bail) Bill, which is being fast-tracked and is due to undergo all of its remaining Commons stages on 7 July 2011. The Bill would reverse the effect of the High Court’s recent decision in the Hookway case, in which it held that the “detention clock” limiting the period that the police can hold a suspect for without charge continued to run when the suspect was released on bail

  • Research Briefing

    Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill Committee Stage Report [Bill 151 of 2010-11]

    During the Committee stage, several Government amendments were made to the provisions on police reform. Some (for example, on police complaints, police and crime plans and disqualifying people convicted of imprisonable offences from becoming or being police and crime commissioners) were on matters of substance. By contrast, there were only minor amendments to the provisions of the misuse of drugs and no substantive amendments to the parts of the Bill covering licensing, protests in Parliament Square or universal jurisdiction.

  • Research Briefing

    Protection of Freedoms Bill [Bill 146 of 2010-11]

    This briefing on the Protection of Freedoms Bill was prepared for the House of Commons Second Reading debate. The Bill forms part of the Coalition Government's programme to “implement a full programme of measures to reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties and roll back state intrusion”, and follows the passing of the Identity Documents Act 2010, which abolished identity cards. The Bill introduces a wide range of measures including the a new framework for police retention of fingerprints and DNA data, a requirement for schools to get parents’ consent before processing children’s biometric information, a new regime for police stops and searches under the Terrorism Act 2000 and the reduction of the maximum pre-charge detention period under that Act from 28 to 14 days. It also restricts the scope of the 'vetting and barring' scheme for protecting vulnerable groups and makes changes to the system of criminal records checks.

  • Research Briefing

    Data protection and the police

    The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), including its exemptions, applies to the police. Section 29 of the Act details the "crime and taxation" exemption which allows personal data either to be processed or withheld from the data subject for the purposes of the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.

  • Research Briefing

    Air guns in Scotland

    Firearms law is currently a reserved matter. However, arguing that Scotland has a significantly bigger problem with airgun-inflicted injury and death than the rest of Great Britain, the Scottish Parliament has called for the right to make its own laws on air weapons.

  • Research Briefing

    Special Constables

    This note sets out the role and powers of special constables as well as looking at some of the initiatives to increase their numbers.

  • Research Briefing

    Crime and Security Bill. Bill 3 2009-10.

    The Bill would amend the law governing the taking, retention and destruction of fingerprints and DNA data from persons arrested for, charged with or convicted of criminal offences. It would reduce the requirements on the police to record information following a stop and search. It would introduce new 'go' orders for suspected perpetrators of domestic violence, which could mean excluding them from their homes in order to protect the victim. The Bill would also, in effect, extend new injunctions for gang-related violence to 14-18 year olds, and require courts to issue a Parenting Order where a child under 16 had breached an Anti-social Behaviour Order. It would require wheel clamping companies to be licensed, and create a new offence of possessing an authorised mobile phone in a prison. It also creates a new offence of preventing a person under 18 from gaining unauthorised access to air weapons.

  • Research Briefing

    Policing and Crime Bill (Bill 7 of 2008-09)

    This Bill includes measures on police accountability and effectiveness, prostitution and certain orders relating to sex offences, regulation of lap dancing clubs, licensing conditions, police powers relating to alcohol, proceeds of crime, extradition, airport security, criminal records, importation restrictions on offensive weapons and football banning orders.

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