Concerns rise over Police Bill

MPs and peers have issued a call for evidence on the wide-ranging and controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

The Bill, which was debated in Parliament this week only six days after being published, would give the police greater powers to limit the right to protest―a sensitive subject, given public uproar over the policing of the London vigil for Sarah Everard on Clapham Common. Under the proposals, police would be able to set a start and finish time, limit noise levels and apply protest curbs to a demonstration by one single person.

The Bill also includes a new trespass offence for unauthorised encampments, which could have a detrimental impact on Gypsy and Traveller communities. It increases powers for police to extract information from electronic devices, extends the use of ‘whole life orders’ and alters sentencing for children and young people.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights said a proposal in the Bill to extend the sexual offence of abusing trust to cover sports and religious settings could enhance human rights. However, it raised concerns about the impact on human rights of most of the other proposals.

The committee is seeking evidence of no more than 1,500 words to be submitted through the online portal by 14 May.

Meanwhile, an extraordinary coalition of hundreds of charities and campaign groups―ranging from the Ramblers and RSPB to Rights of Women―urged MPs this week to block the legislation. They warned MPs have been given too little time to scrutinise the Bill.

Gracie Bradley, Liberty’s interim director, said: ‘Not only does this Bill hand police the choice on where, when and how people can protest, it also threatens to criminalise the entire way of life of nomadic Gypsy and Traveller communities and creates new stop and search powers that will exacerbate discriminatory over-policing of people of colour, subjecting people to profiling and State harassment.

‘The dangerous policing of the Sarah Everard vigil follows a growing crackdown on protest throughout this pandemic, including the issuing of exorbitant fines to protest organisers in the summer and the aggressive kettling of Black Lives Matter protesters during a pandemic.’