For a new law to be approved it needs to pass through various stages in Parliament. The “first reading” is usually a formality with a quick vote by MPs to start the process. The Second Reading gives the opportunity for MPs to debate the Bill and lay initial amendments. Then there is a very detailed security by a small committee of MPs who go through the Bill line by line and consider more detailed amendments. I am serving on the Bill Committee to scrutinise the new Criminal Justice Bill. The committee will meet every Tuesday and Thursday during December and January, so this involves a significant time commitment.
Crime is reducing. Reports of crime are down by over 50% since 2010. In Essex, reports of anti-social behaviour in the ten-month period to the end of October dropped by over thirty percent compared to last year. There are now record numbers of officers in the Essex Police service which is helping to deter criminals and prevent crime. However, criminals are always evolving and so it is important to make sure that our laws evolve too.
The new Criminal Justice Bill will Ensure criminals face the consequences of their actions and spend longer behind bars. It introduces longer sentences for the most dangerous criminals, including those involved in child grooming gangs. There was outrage earlier this year when the child murderer, Lucy Letby, refused to attend court to hear her sentence. In the future criminals will be compelled to attend.
To tackle violence against women and girls the taking of intimate images without consent will be criminalised, and the offence of encouraging or assisting serious self-harm will be expanded. Laws against knives and dangerous weapons are being strengthened. There will be new laws to prevent 3D printing of guns and pill presses and to tackle the signal jammers used in vehicle theft.
In Chelmsford, residents have sometimes contacted me in deep frustration. Their phone has been stolen, they have used “find my i-phone” or similar trackers to pin-pointed its location but the police are unable to retrieve it. To resolve this, police will now be able to enter premises without a warrant if they have strong reasons to believe stolen goods are present.
Another issue that comes up occasionally in and around the High Street is the issue of people rough sleeping in the fire escapes of shops. Sensibly, the Government has recently removed the Vagrancy laws of 1866 which made rough sleeping a criminal offence but new powers under this Bill will help when people are sleeping rough in areas that create significant nuisance. There will also be new powers to tackle persistent, nuisance and organised begging.
During the Committee Stage of the Bill, additional amendments will be considered. I have been campaigning with a group of MPs to introduce a specific law to tackle the issue of spiking. Chelmsford has an extremely strong reputation of safety in our night time economy, but from time to time, even in Chelmsford, stories of alleged spiking come to light. Spiking is a criminal offence but the law on his goes back to the Offences Against the Person Act which was written in 1861 so the language is very outdated. We believe that new, more modern language which makes it very clear that spiking is illegal will help to deter perpetrators.
Another issue that I have been campaigning on is the “Pavement Tax”. At the moment, people who live in homes with their own driveway pay just 5% VAT when they charge their electric vehicle from their home electricity, but people living in terraced homes who can’t park directly outside their door need to charge on a commercial charger and pay 20% VAT. I would like to see dedicated charging stations for local residents offering the lower VAT rate. This week I met with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to discuss how to level out this issue. There are a number of technical issues that need to be resolved, such as making sure that the system would not be open for abuse by fleets of commercial vehicles.
In Chelmsford, I joined Sara Tupper for a walkabout in the city centre. Sara is the manager of the One Chelmsford Business Improvement District, representing over 450 local businesses in Chelmsford. The High Street was buzzing. I was delighted to hear that the footfall is very strong, a good sign that the economy is doing well locally. We spoke to many shop managers and stall holders, all of whom were positive. In some places, there does appear to be a new trend of organised shoplifting by gangs but work by the police to ensure people are safe, and to tackle shoplifting and other crimes has been greatly appreciated.
I also met up with one of Chelmsford’s newest businesses, Therapy Finders. This innovative company seeks to support people who want to speak to a therapist but don’t know who to contact. Their website can match individuals with over 1,500 trained and verified therapists. It also offers immediate support with an Emotional First Aid service. If you, or someone you know, needs some emotional support then do consider giving them a try. I would be very interested to hear your feedback.
