On 31st March 2022, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. There were votes on several amendments, in which Bishops took part.
Votes: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
Tag: Police Crime Sentencing & Courts Bill 2022
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Bristol supports necessity of right to protest
During a debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill on 17th January 2022, the Bishop of Gloucester voiced concerns regarding provisions in the bill that would restrict noise in protests:
The Lord Bishop of Bristol: The city of Bristol is a city of activists and protesters, and it has been so for a very long time, particularly at the time of the Great Reform Bill. Many protests nowadays focus on College Green, in the shadow of the cathedral; as a result, I am well aware of the passion and commitment of Bristol activists, and the very real hurt and trauma when protests are mishandled.
Often protests can be annoying, and often they are disruptive—but that is the point. Public spaces, like College Green in Bristol and Parliament Square, are places which are felt to belong to the public, and which have been places where decision-makers like us are confronted by people’s concerns.
Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Bristol supports necessity of right to protest”Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Leeds questions definition of “significant” disruption
On 17th January 2022, during a debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill, the Bishop of Leeds spoke in support of amendments to relating to the definition of “significant” disruption caused by protests:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I have a number of problems with this part of the Bill that are to do with form and content. The fact that these amendments were brought in at the stage they were seems an abuse of parliamentary scrutiny. Some of the debates we are having could have been sorted out had they been addressed in the normal way. That fits into a pattern of intimations about breaking the rule of law and the authoritarian complexion of the way in which some things are being done in, through or around Parliament. That is my problem with form.
Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Leeds questions definition of “significant” disruption”Votes: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
On 17th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill in its report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of St Albans supports restrictions on hare coursing
On 17th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill in the sixth day of the report stage. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate, supporting amendments that would place restrictions and penalties on hare coursing (hunting hares with dogs):
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition. It is a great delight to stand in the House and congratulate the Government on tabling these amendments to address this very serious rural problem of hare-coursing, which has affected so many landowners and farmers across these islands. In particular, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe of Epsom, who really listened to the debate, when people from every part of the Chamber spoke. I know that he has taken that back to others. I am hugely grateful to him for doing that.
Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of St Albans supports restrictions on hare coursing”Votes: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
On 10th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in the Report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the Bill, in which Bishops took part.
Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Gloucester supports establishment of a Women’s Justice Board
On 10th January 2022, during a debate on amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the Bishop of Gloucester spoke in support of an amendment tabled by Lord Marks of Henley Upon Thames that would establish a Women’s Justice Board to address the needs of women within the criminal justice system:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I add my wholehearted support to this amendment. I am very grateful to the noble Lords, Lord Marks and Lord Ramsbotham, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, for their continued commitment to women in the criminal justice system. As bishop to prisons and president of the Nelson Trust, I am acutely aware, as I have said so often, of the need for a gendered approach to justice. The noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy, has just put that very powerfully.
Continue reading “Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Gloucester supports establishment of a Women’s Justice Board”Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Gloucester raises issue of threats to vulnerable women and girls
On 10th January 2022, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The Bishop of Gloucester raised the issue of vulnerable women being caught in “joint enterprise” scenarios involving weapons and given prison sentences, and supported amendments which would address this:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I rise to support in particular Amendments 90H, 90J, 90K and 90L. As has been said, they are critical to ensuring that more vulnerable women are not drawn into the criminal justice system through the de facto joint enterprise element of SVROs. Probably like other noble Lords, I was shocked to read the briefing from Agenda, which states that analysis of
“109 joint enterprise cases involving women and girls”
shows that
“there was not a single case in which women and girls had handled a weapon; in 90% of cases they engaged in no violence at all; and in half of the cases they were not even present at the scene of the crime.”
Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Gloucester raises issue of threats to vulnerable women and girls”Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks in favour of amendments on Serious Violence Reduction Orders
On 10th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in the fourth day of the report stage. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of a group of amendments relating to the implementation of Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs):
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I support Amendments 90H, 90J, 95A, 95B and 95C, to which I have added my name. I also signal my support for other amendments in this group which also seek to control more tightly how serious violence reduction orders will operate. I draw your Lordships’ attention to my work on policing ethics, both for Greater Manchester Police and for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, as set out in the register of interests.
As the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, has indicated, Amendment 90H seeks to ensure that an SVRO can be applied only when a bladed article or offensive weapon is used to commit an offence, not simply when such an item happens to be present and in the possession of the defendant. As the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, has indicated, as presently drafted, the Bill requires no substantive link between the weapon and the offence. An individual could, for example, commit a road traffic offence while driving home from a church picnic, with their used cutlery on the passenger seat next to them, and the prosecution could ask for an SVRO.
Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks in favour of amendments on Serious Violence Reduction Orders”Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Leeds stresses need to consult young people on issues around technology
On 13th December 2021, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in the second day of the report stage. The Bishop of Leeds spoke in the debate, following an amendment from Baroness Chakrabarti on digital extraction of information from devices by police, highlighting issues regarding lack of understanding of technology and the need to communicate with young people:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, especially following the speech by the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, I am conscious that I have no conception of what the world looks like through the eyes of my grandchildren. When I was their age there were three channels on television, which began at 4.40 in the afternoon with “Jackanory”. The world has changed considerably and, although I have tried to keep up with technology, professionally and personally, I am aware that I cannot see the world into which we are moving. We are not ahead of the game.
Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Leeds stresses need to consult young people on issues around technology”
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