Policing and Crime Bill: Committee Stage Report

The Policing and Crime Bill was introduced on 10 February 2016 and received its second reading on 7 March.  Library Briefing Paper 7499, Policing and Crime Bill 2015-16  provides an analysis of the Bill as originally introduced in the Commons.

The Bill received its second reading on 7 March 2016, and there were seven sittings of the Public Bill Committee, including two public evidence sessions. The Bill is due to have its report stage and Legislative Grand Committee on 26 April 2016.

Significant amendments made in Committee included:

• Reforms to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, including renaming it the Office for Police Conduct
• A new offence of breach of pre-charge bail conditions relating to travel; this would apply where a person had been arrested in respect of certain terrorism offences
• A new offence for someone who owns a defectively deactivated weapon to make it available for sale or gift to another person

Particularly controversial areas included:

• Police and Crime Commissioners becoming Fire and Rescue Authorities and adopting the single employer model, under which a single chief officer would be in charge of both police and fire services
• The new powers for police volunteers