The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act updates sentencing legislation to protect the public and extend the sentences of major sexual and violent criminals while giving police the authority and resources they need to fight crime.
These include ending the automatic early release of offenders deemed to be a danger to the public and establishing whole-life orders as the starting point for premeditated child murder.
Mandatory life sentences will also be implemented for those who kill emergency personnel while performing their duties.
The Act, which is crucial, fulfills the Government’s promise to increase protection for women and girls.
The reporting period for common assault or battery offenses for victims of domestic violence has been extended, and non-consensual photography or videotaping of nursing mothers will now carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
To keep the public safer, the most violent and sexually active offenders, including rapists, will also be required to serve longer prison terms.
Boris Johnson, the prime minister, said:
In keeping with its promise to make our streets safer, this government is doing so.
We have amended the legislation to ensure that dangerous offenders receive the just punishment and are imprisoned, and we are giving the police the authority they require to protect us.
In order to ensure that everyone in every town, village, and city has the security and confidence they are entitled to, we are well on our way to hiring 20,000 more police officers. We also intend to keep supporting victims who are seeking justice while stepping up our efforts to combat crime.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said:
With the implementation of our new legislation, serious offenders—including those who commit sex crimes, mistreat children, and murder emergency personnel—will now face harsher prison sentences.
In order to help victims of domestic abuse receive justice, we are also preventing breastfeeding women from being photographed without their permission and extending the time they have to report the crime to the police.
Other sentencing amendments that went into effect today include Tony’s Law’s increased maximum sentences for a number of child abuse offenses.
Additionally, judges will now be allowed to sentence hazardous drivers who kill on our roads to life in prison and can impose entire life orders on 18 to 20-year-olds who commit the worst offenses, such as acts of terrorism that result in a large number of fatalities.
The PCSC Act also increases the maximum sentence for assaulting law enforcement or other emergency professionals, such as frontline firefighters or hospital staff, from 12 months to two years, in an effort to safeguard those who risk their lives to keep communities safe.
Additionally, it will codify “Harper’s Law,” which mandates mandatory life terms for anyone found guilty of murdering an emergency worker while committing a crime.
To ensure that the consequences for these offenses reflect the gravity of the surge in guerilla protest techniques we have witnessed recently, it is now illegal to intentionally or recklessly cause a public nuisance.
Additionally, the police will be given more authority to deal with peaceful demonstrations that significantly disrupt public life or access to Parliament.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, said:
The laws that take effect today put the government’s Beating Crime Plan into action and will work to reduce crime, improve victim protection, and make streets safer across the nation.
The priorities of the people are being met by us. These policies are all about supporting the police and standing up for the law-abiding majority of the British citizens, whether it is in the fight against knife crime, violence against women and girls, or anti-social guerilla protest methods.
Additionally starting today, authorities will be able to acquire a search warrant for any evidence pertaining to the location of human remains even if a prosecution cannot be made.
In order to expedite victims’ access to justice and eliminate the backlog of pandemic-related court cases, the government is also allocating £477 million. To ensure that courts can continue to operate at capacity and prevent delays, this includes raising the quota on Crown Court sitting days for an additional year.
To amplify their voices and hold justice agencies more accountable for the services they provide, officials published a draft Victims’ Bill in May.