Correspondence

Crime, policing and fire news update: May 2016

Published 8 June 2016

1. Home Secretary’s speech at the Police Federation Conference

On 17 May the Home Secretary gave a speech to the annual conference of the Police Federation of England and Wales. Speaking at the conference for the seventh time, the Home Secretary recognised the “clear progress” made towards reforming the Police Federation. She challenged the organisation to finish the job of reform and highlighted concerns about the use of members’ funds. The Home Secretary gave the firm warning to the federation that, if they were to stall, falter or turn their back on reform, she would legislate to do it for them.

A theme of the speech was the police response to protecting vulnerable people, including victims of domestic and child sexual abuse. The Home Secretary pledged her support for proposals for new training to address vulnerability and improve the response to victims. The Home Secretary also said that she would bring forward proposals with the College of Policing to develop minimum training and standards for certain specialist roles and to give the college responsibility to enforce those standards through a system of national accreditation.

2. Home Secretary’s speech on fire reform

On 24 May the Home Secretary gave her first speech on fire policy since the Home Office took over responsibility for fire services in England in January. The Home Secretary announced the fire reform agenda which will be implemented over the next 4 years, and will:

• improve accountability
• improve efficiency and collaboration
• bring independent scrutiny
• increase transparency to the public

In her speech, the Home Secretary set out the programme of reform, which will include:

• creating a new independent inspection regime for fire and rescue services
• encouraging greater collaboration, both across fire and rescue services and with police and ambulance services
• making the service more transparent by publishing a range of information such as incident reports and data on procurement and workforce
• enabling police and crime commissioners in the Policing and Crime Bill to take on responsibility for their fire and rescue services

3. Policing and Crime Bill update

Following the Queen’s Speech on the 18 May, the Policing and Crime Bill was re-introduced in Parliament. The bill continues the government’s reform of the police complaints and discipline systems, and gives police and crime commissioners the ability to take responsibility for fire and rescue services (where a local case is made) to increase efficiency and effectiveness. The bill is currently at report stage in the House of Commons; it will then move to the House of Lords. Read the updated bill documents.

4. Police transformation fund

The Home Office has launched a new police transformation fund which will ensure policing can meet future demands and build capability to respond to changing crimes and threats.

The fund will be managed in 2 phases:

• phase 1 will extend to March 2018 and will support funding of smaller scale and priority projects
• phase 2 will extend to March 2020 and will implement the priorities set through phase 1

5. New fund to provide safe places for people in a mental health crisis

In May 2015, the Department of Health announced that it would create a £15 million fund to provide health and community-based places of safety to prevent vulnerable people being held in police cells.

While the use of police cells as a place of safety has declined by almost a third in England and Wales between 2013/14 and 2014/15, both the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Health have said they want to see an end to people with mental health issues being locked up in police cells because appropriate health services are not available.

The Home Office, Department of Health, Care Quality Commission, and NHS England identified 23 priority Crisis Care Concordat groups covering 10 police forces where the need for additional places of safety are amongst the greatest.

The force areas are:

• Avon and Somerset
• Cleveland
• Derbyshire
• Devon and Cornwall
• Essex
• Lincolnshire
• Nottinghamshire
• South Yorkshire
• Sussex
• West Yorkshire

The Department of Health is now inviting bids from Crisis Care Concordat groups in these areas for funding to provide alternative places of safety to allow people experiencing mental health issues to receive compassionate care and support in the right setting.

6. New joint forensic and biometric service

The Home Office set out its vision for forensic science in the Forensic Science Strategy and is now working with police forces to identify how forensics and biometrics can be more effective, and (where possible) use modernised digital platforms with a focus on faster and better criminal justice system outcomes.

The Home Office is now reviewing the case for moving the current fragmented provision of forensics and biometrics into a joint forensic and biometric service to achieve economies of scale, increased capability and resilience. Moving forensic and biometric capabilities closer to the point of need will ensure the police and law enforcement continue to have the capabilities to investigate crime with new technologies at lower cost.

Police forensic leads have set out a programme of work that will build on the opportunities offered by the Home Office Biometrics Programme to ensure that those forensic and biometric capabilities currently provided in-house are organised most effectively and shared across policing where appropriate. The programme is currently in the process of engaging stakeholders to develop an outline business case for consideration by the National Police Chiefs’ Council as part of the wider programme of police reform and transformation.

7. Psychoactive Substances Act now in force

A blanket ban on so-called ‘legal highs’ and tough new enforcement powers came into effect on 26 May. The Psychoactive Substances Act protects young people and those vulnerable to using these substances by banning any trade for human consumption of these potentially dangerous drugs. The act provides a range of criminal and civil sanctions including new powers for police and tough sentences for offenders. Sanctions under the act include:

• up to 7 years in prison for the supply, production, possession with intent to supply, importation or exportation of a psychoactive substance for human consumption
• up to 2 years in prison for possessing a psychoactive substance in a custodial institution
• prohibition and premises orders which will allow police to shut down head shops and online dealers in the UK, with up to 2 years in prison for those who fail to comply

The UK will be the first country in the world to put in place a rigorous system of testing to demonstrate that a substance is capable of having a psychoactive effect, providing evidence to support civil action and prosecutions.

The government has already taken action against so called ‘legal highs’, having banned more than 500 potentially dangerous drugs. The new act will go even further but legislation alone is not enough. The government continues to take action across prevention, treatment and recovery to reduce harmful drug use and is working with experts to develop a new drugs strategy.

The Home Office has produced a new psychoactive substances resource pack for informal educators and frontline practitioners. You can request a copy by e-mailing CrimeandPolicingPartners@homeoffice.gov.uk.

8. Proposed revisions to magistrates’ court guidelines

The Sentencing Council has published proposals for revisions to some of the magistrates’ court sentencing guidelines. The aim is to introduce a consistent approach to sentencing in all magistrates’ courts in England and Wales. The council has developed a more sophisticated methodology for assessing the seriousness of offences in its guidelines compared with those previously produced and wants to ensure that this approach is applied across the board.

The Sentencing Council is keen to hear people’s views of the proposals, particularly:

• magistrates
• people working in the criminal justice system
• people who have an interest in this area of sentencing

The council has launched a public consultation which will run until 11 August, and you can take part by visiting the Sentencing Council’s website.

9. Proposed guidelines for sentencing of young offenders

The Sentencing Council has published proposed new guidelines for sentencing young offenders. The guidelines will provide judges and magistrates with up-to-date guidance that will help ensure consistency in sentencing in England and Wales, and will ensure that young people who commit offences are sentenced fairly and proportionately, with the primary aim of stopping them reoffending. The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines which will close on 3 August. You can find more information about the proposals and take part in the consultation on the Sentencing Council’s website.

10. Promoting the National Citizen Service for your teen campaign

The Cabinet Office is encouraging organisations to promote the National Citizen Service (NCS) for your teen campaign to their staff. The campaign aims to inform parents of the positive benefits participating in the NCS can have on their teenager, and encourage them to speak to their teenager about NCS. More information about the campaign is available.

11. Crime, policing and fire news update changes

The communications team has been reviewing the news update to identify areas for improvement. As part of this, the news update is moving to a bi-monthly publication, which will be supplemented with an e-mail highlighting policy updates. This will allow us to provide you with a more detailed update of announcements over the past 2 months.

12. Speeches

• Home Secretary’s speech on fire reform
• Home Secretary’s speech at the Police Federation Conference
• Home Secretary’s speech at the Serious and Organised Crime Exchange Conference
• Home Secretary’s speech on the UK, EU and our place in the world