Police, Courts, Sentencing and Courts Bill: AYJ Members Catch-up (MEMBER VIEW ONLY)
On Thursday 17th June, AYJ members were invited to come together and share the work they have been carrying out in relation to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The meeting was an opportunity to inform and identify areas for collaboration, reflect on proceedings so far, and strategise for the next stages of the Bill. Thank you to all members who joined us, and for those who were unable to attend and are interested in how the Bill impacts children, please use this summary to familiarise yourself with the current work in the sector.
Transform Justice
Transform Justice have been focusing on amendments on the use of video and audio links. They are concerned about the defendant having no choice in the matter and the need for full health assessments prior to their use. They are hoping to stay in touch with Just for Kids Law, Fair Trials and other post committee stage.
They are supportive of provisions raising the threshold for remand to custody, however, are concerned about police remand driving custodial remand numbers. They are trying to gain support for amending the police remand threshold to better align it with the new custodial remand threshold.
Just for Kids Law
Just for Kids Law have also been working on video links, concerned about the impact on children’s effective participation. They have experienced this in their direct practice. They have been working with Alex Cunningham MP’s office, providing him with case studies etc.
They are also concerned about police remand and are working on a project on children being held in police custody overnight, with a focus on disproportionality. A roundtable will be carried out shortly and they are also interested in doing something in the House of Lords in partnership with Transform Justice on this matter.
They have been working with The Children’s Society around Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE), working on securing a statutory definition of CCE.
They have been working on ensuring children who turn 18 between committing an offence and having their case heard are treated as children, but have faced challenges around communication between Labour and the Conservatives. Labour tabled an amendment on the issue but said they would not be pushing it to a vote, hoping to work with Rob Butler MP moving forward.
The Children’s Society
The Children’s Society have been working with the Labour team on amendments to the Serious Violence Duty. They are assessing what to progress and are meeting with officials soon. They have been leading joint work on the definition of CCE and are also looking to continue this work moving forward.
New Horizons Youth Centre (NHYC)
New Horizons Youth Centre have been in conversation with Stella Creasy MP on housing provision for those involved in/at risk of serious violence. They are also gathering opportunities for external media stories and have been in touch with families who may want to talk about the issue.
Association of YOT Managers (AYM)
AYM released a briefing on the Bill which can be found here. They are interested in a wide scope of the Bill with particular concerns around electronic monitoring of children on community sentences, tariff starting points for murder, children being treated as adults, and disproportionality.
National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS)
NYAS have been working on their Trouble with the Law campaign, looking at the criminalisation of children in care, and working with PCCs on CCE. They are particularly keen to support other organisations wherever possible, particularly where there are concerns around care experienced children.
Centre for Mental Health/Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Coalition (CYPMHC)
Centre for Mental Health have been focusing on the Mental Health Act White Paper, however they are keen to play a supportive role to other organisations if there are opportunities to find links between the two, especially for providing evidence on mental health, and disproportionate impacts.
Howard League for Penal Reform
Howard League tabled an amendment via the APPG on Women in the Penal System, which would remove the option of remand for a child’s own welfare, but noted they do not expect it to pass. They also expressed their concerns about the attitudes of the Opposition towards criminal justice, including tabling amendments to the Bill that would make it even more punitive.
They expressed that the government was hesitant to add anything new to the Bill, but there may be opportunities once the Bill has passed, particularly around criminal records.
EQUAL
The overall concern for EQUAL is the issue of disproportionality, working with a coalition of organisations including AYJ and AYJ members on a campaign to raise awareness about the impact of the Bill on racial inequality. They have raised their concerns with Alex Chalke MP who they meet up with on a quarterly basis. EQUAL urge you to share and sign our joint petition here.
Along with the Criminal Justice Alliance, they tabled amendments to Serious Violence Reduction Orders through Sarah Jones MP.
Khulisa
Khulisa attended a roundtable with Sarah Jones MP on the PCSC Bill with a specific focus on Serious Violence Orders and the legal duty to share information. Khulisa are particularly concerned that SVROs are not trauma-informed as there is a risk people will suffer criminal consequences for exhibiting trauma-related behaviour. They pointed out that though obstructing a police officer counts as breaching an SVRO, what that means is undefined. Given what is known about how people who have sustained trauma react when in survival mode (fight or flight), they run the risk of their scared behaviour being misinterpreted and facing a criminal punishment if they are seen as 'obstructing a police officer.'
They also raised questions with the MP about what will be done to ensure the requirements attached to SVROs are communicated in ways that make it easy for people to understand and stick to the conditions of their SVRO. Lastly, Khulisa also raised concerns about the Serious Violence Duty to share information due to the impact it will have on relationships between young people and the trusted adults in their lives and the extra pressure it places on schools.
Traveller Movement
The Traveller Movement’s focus is on Part 4, the criminalisation of trespass and the impact on the already disproportionate representation of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) communities in the criminal justice system. They responded to the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ call for evidence on the Bill, and highlighted the contradiction of the Bill to the right of the Gypsy way of life in the Human Rights Convention.
The Traveller Movement are interested in understanding how other provisions in the Bill will impact GRT children in the youth justice system.
Centre for Justice Innovation (CJI)
CJI have fed in a number of amendments particularly on serious violence. They will still be briefing into the remaining stages of the Bill and seeing what they can do in the Lords, but as it seems like most provisions will pass, they will now focus on influencing the implementation side.
National Association for Youth Justice and Article 39
In conjunction with Article 39, NAYJ have proposed an amendment on Secure Schools tabled by Sarah Champion MP. The amendment focused on confirming that Secure Schools could not be run for profit and to permit local authorities to run Secure Schools. Just for Kids Law and AYM expressed in the meeting that they would support this amendment. At committee stage the amendment wasn’t put to a vote. The government committed to writing to Sarah Champion MP on why Secure Schools can not be run by local authorities.
They are also pushing for opposition to Detention and Training Orders (DTO) changes, and are concerned about Electronic Monitoring and the lack of evidence that ‘tougher’ community sentences lead to a decrease in custody.
Nacro
Nacro published a briefing for the second reading and focused on disproportionality and turning 18. They also gave evidence at the Committee Stage. The work from then on became limited with regards for potential impact on children.
They expressed that the limitations of the Bill are huge, however they are also looking beyond the Bill and are hopeful for further progress on criminal records.
Prison Reform Trust
PRT gave evidence to the Bill Committee, setting out their main concerns. Most of their work has focussed on adults.