Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 2022 c. 32 |
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
2022 Chapter 32
An Act to make provision about the police and other emergency workers; to make provision about collaboration between authorities to prevent and reduce serious violence; to make provision about offensive weapons homicide reviews; to make provision for new offences and for the modification of existing offences; to make provision about the powers of the police and other authorities for the purposes of preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting crime or investigating other matters; to make provision about the maintenance of public order; to make provision about the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles; to make provision in connection with driving offences; to make provision about cautions; to make provision about bail and remand; to make provision about sentencing, detention, release, management and rehabilitation of offenders; to make provision about secure 16 to 19 Academies; to make provision for and in connection with procedures before courts and tribunals; and for connected purposes.
[28 April 2022]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
PART 1
Protection of the police etc
Police covenant report
1 Police covenant report
(1) The Secretary of State must in each financial year—
(a)
(a) prepare a police covenant report, and
(b)
(b) lay a copy of the report before Parliament.
(2) A police covenant report is a report about—
(a)
(a) the health and well-being of members and former members of the police workforce,
(b)
(b) the physical protection of such persons,
(c)
(c) the support required by members of their families, and
(d)
(d) any other matter in relation to members or former members of the police workforce, or a particular description of such persons, that the Secretary of State considers appropriate,
so far as these matters relate to the fact that the persons concerned are members or former members of the police workforce.
(3) In preparing a police covenant report the Secretary of State must have regard in particular to—
(a)
(a) the obligations of and sacrifices made by members of the police workforce, and
(b)
(b) the principle that it is desirable to remove any disadvantage for members or former members of the police workforce arising from their membership or former membership.
(4) In preparing a police covenant report the Secretary of State must ensure that the views of—
(a)
(a) any relevant government department, and
(b)
(b) anyone else the Secretary of State considers appropriate,
are sought in relation to the matters to be covered by the report.
(5) A police covenant report must set out in full or summarise any views obtained under subsection (4).
(6) The Secretary of State may not include in a police covenant report a summary under subsection (5) unless the person whose views are summarised has approved the summary.
(7) A police covenant report must state whether, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, in respect of any matter covered by the report, members or former members of the police workforce, or a particular description of such persons, are at a disadvantage when compared with other persons or such descriptions of other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(8) Where the Secretary of State’s opinion is that there is any such disadvantage as mentioned in subsection (7), the report must set out the Secretary of State’s response to that.
(9) In this section—
“” means—(a) the period which begins with the day on which this section comes into force and ends with the following 31 March, and(b) each successive period of 12 months;
“” means—(a) members of police forces in England and Wales,(b) special constables appointed under section 27 of the Police Act 1996,(c) staff appointed by the chief officer of police of a police force in England and Wales,(d) persons designated as community support volunteers or policing support volunteers under section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002,(e) staff appointed by a local policing body if, or to the extent that, they are employed to assist a police force in England and Wales,(f) persons providing services, in pursuance of contractual arrangements (but without being employed by the chief officer of a police force in England and Wales or a local policing body), to assist a police force in England and Wales in relation to the discharge of its chief officer’s functions,(g) constables of the British Transport Police Force,(h) special constables of the British Transport Police Force appointed under section 25 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003,(i) employees of the British Transport Police Authority appointed under section 27 of that Act and under the direction and control of the chief constable of the British Transport Police Force,(j) persons designated as community support volunteers or policing support volunteers under section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002 as applied by section 28 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003,(k) members of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary,(l) employees of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority employed under paragraph 6 of Schedule 10 to the Energy Act 2004 if, or to the extent that, they are employed to assist the Civil Nuclear Constabulary,(m) members of the Ministry of Defence Police and other persons under the direction and control of the Chief Constable of the Ministry of Defence Police, and(n) National Crime Agency officers;
“” means persons who have ceased to be members of the police workforce;
“”, in relation to a matter to be covered by a police covenant report, means a department of the Government of the United Kingdom (apart from the Home Office) which the Secretary of State considers has functions relevant to that matter.
(10) The reference in subsection (2) to members of the families of members and former members of the police workforce is a reference to such descriptions of persons connected with members or former members of the police workforce as the Secretary of State considers should be covered by a police covenant report.
Offences against emergency workers
2 Increase in penalty for assault on emergency worker
(1) In section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 (offence of common assault, or battery, committed against emergency worker), in subsection (2)(b) (penalty for conviction on indictment), for “12 months” substitute “2 years”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies only in relation to offences committed on or after the day on which this section comes into force.
3 Required life sentence for manslaughter of emergency worker
(1) The Sentencing Code is amended in accordance with subsections (2) to (15).
(2) In section 177 (youth rehabilitation orders), in subsection (3)(b)(i), after “258” insert “or 258A”.
(3) In section 221 (overview of Part 10), in subsection (2)(b), for “section 258” substitute “sections 258 and 258A”.
(4) In section 249 (sentence of detention under section 250), in subsection (2)(a), for “section 258” substitute “sections 258 and 258A”.
(5) In section 255 (extended sentence of detention), in subsection (1)(d), after “258(2)” insert “or 258A(2)”.
(6) After section 258 insert—
258A
“258A. Required sentence of detention for life for manslaughter of emergency worker
(1) This section applies where—
(a)
(a) a person aged under 18 is convicted of a relevant offence,
(b)
(b) the offence was committed—
(i) when the person was aged 16 or over, and
(ii) on or after the relevant commencement date, and
(c)
(c) the offence was committed against an emergency worker acting in the exercise of functions as such a worker.
(2) The court must impose a sentence of detention for life under section 250 unless the court is of the opinion that there are exceptional circumstances which—
(a)
(a) relate to the offence or the offender, and
(b)
(b) justify not doing so.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c) the circumstances in which an offence is to be taken as committed against a person acting in the exercise of functions as an emergency worker include circumstances where the offence takes place at a time when the person is not at work but is carrying out functions which, if done in work time, would have been in the exercise of functions as an emergency worker.
(4) In this section “” means the offence of manslaughter, but does not include—
(a)
(a) manslaughter by gross negligence, or
(b)
(b) manslaughter mentioned in section 2(3) or 4(1) of the Homicide Act 1957 or section 54(7) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (partial defences to murder).
(5) In this section—
“” has the meaning given by section 68;
“” means the date on which section 3 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (required life sentence for manslaughter of emergency worker) comes into force.
(6) An offence the sentence for which is imposed under this section is not to be regarded as an offence the sentence for which is fixed by law.
(7) Where an offence is found to have been committed over a period of 2 or more days, or at some time during a period of 2 or more days, it must be taken for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) to have been committed on the last of those days.”
(7) In section 267 (extended sentence of detention in a young offender institution), in subsection (1)(d), for “or 274” substitute “, 274 or 274A”.
(8) In section 272 (offences other than murder), in subsection (2)(b), for “or 274” substitute “, 274 or 274A”.
(9) After section 274 insert—
274A
“274A. Required sentence of custody for life for manslaughter of emergency worker
(1) This section applies where—
(a)
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