 SERIOUS ORGANISED CRIME AND POLICE BILL RECEIVES ROYAL ASSENT
Reference: 071/2005 - Date: 11 Apr 2005 12:06
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill received Royal Assent today.
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005:
- establishes the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and provides for the abolition of the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad. The two agencies' structures and roles, together with the part of HM Customs and Excise which tackles drug trafficking and money laundering, will be absorbed into this new agency. It also sets out SOCA's constitution, functions, general powers and its relationship with Ministers; as well as providing for the transfer of staff to SOCA and the procedures for investigating complaints and misconduct;
- allows for similar powers to those used by the Serious Fraud Office to enable individuals to be compelled to answer questions in interviews with prosecutors and produce documents on demand. The Act also puts Queen's Evidence on a statutory footing;
- gives judges a new power to impose strict financial reporting requirements on offenders post sentence;
- gives police new powers including the power of arrest for all offences, introducing search warrants that can be used to search more than one property owned by an individual and that can be used on more than one occasion and improving the use of forensic material, for example by allowing roadside fingerprinting and the taking of footwear impressions;
- gives community support officers additional powers including a power to direct traffic, deter begging, search detained persons for dangerous articles or items that may be used to assist escape and a power to enforce certain licensing offences and to enter licensed premises;
- provides for the introduction of civilian custody officers to work alongside police in custody suites;
- extends harassment laws to prevent harassment of two or more people who are being persuaded not to do something they are entitled to do; creates a new offence of protesting outside someone's home where a person is causing harassment, alarm or distress; and provides police with the power to direct a protester to leave the vicinity of a home and not return for up to three months;
- introduces new offences of interference with business contracts so as to damage an animal research organisation and intimidation of persons connected with an animal research organisation; and
- allows the police to impose conditions on any person demonstrating within the vicinity of Parliament.
NOTES TO EDITORS
- The Bill was published on 24 November 2004 (Home Office press notice 365/05).
- The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act and explanatory notes will be available at The Stationary Office website (www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk)
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