As you may be aware, the Policing and Crime Act 2009 [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2009/ukpga_20090026_en_1] entered the statute books last year.  To date, the majority of the reforms have yet to come into force however some changes are already beginning to happen which will impact upon many of the cases in which the police are involved.  Here are some of the highlights…

S.295(2)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 amended (s.64) – IN FORCE AS OF 25TH JANUARY 2010

S.295(2)(a) of POCA originally provided that a magistrates’ court could order the detention of seized cash for a 3 month period.  This is now amended so that the period of detention may be extended for 6 months at a time.

This is likely to reduce the number of applications for the further detention of seized cash, although officers / financial investigators will need to provide more persuasive grounds for the further detention of cash for up to 6 months.  We anticipate that whilst the number of such applications will reduce the legal argument may increase, particularly where there are no on-going criminal prosecutions and the OIC requires more than 3 months to complete their investigations.

Creation of closure orders connected with sexual offences (s.21 and Sched.2) – not yet in force
S.21 and Sched.2 inserts a new Part into the Sexual Offences Act 2003 granting the courts the power to close premises being used for activities related to certain sexual offences.

Service of a closure notice by the police will prevent anyone from entering or remaining on the premises, unless they regularly reside in or own the premises, until a magistrates’ court decides whether to make a closure order.  If the court is satisfied that the relevant conditions are met, the court can make a closure order for a period of up to 3 months.  An further application can be made for the closure order to be extended for a total period of up to 6 months.

Disapplication of 6 month limitation period for complaints for sexual offences orders (s.22) – IN FORCE AS OF 1ST APRIL 2010
S.22 amends the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to expressly disapply s.127 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 in relation to applications for civil orders made under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.  Consequently, the provision confirms that the requirement imposed by s.127, that some evidence provided in support of an application for an order must relate to conduct that has occurred within the 6 months prior to the application being made, does not apply to these civil orders.  Such orders include SOPOs, RSHOs and Foreign Travel Orders.

Amendment to Foreign Travel Orders (ss.23 - 25) – not yet in force
Amendment to the grounds upon which FTOs can be obtained and the duration for which they may be made.

New injunctions for ‘Gang-Related Violence’ (Part 4) – not yet in force
The Police will have a new civil order available to them under Part 4 of the 2009 Act.

A court may issue an injunction to prevent gang-related violence if:
a.) the court is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the respondent has engaged in, or has encouraged or assisted, gang-related violence; and
b.) the court thinks it is necessary to grant the injunction for either or both of the following purposes: (a) to prevent the respondent from engaging in, or encouraging or assisting, gang-related violence; (b) to protect the respondent from gang-related violence.

Such injunctions are likely to provide a useful complement to ASBOs or Violent Offender Orders (VOOs) where one or more the necessary conditions for these orders are not met.

S.289 of POCA amended to expressly provide the power to search vehicles for cash (s.63) – not yet in force
S.63 inserts provisions into s.289 of POCA so that an officer can require the search of a vehicle if he/she has reasonable grounds for suspecting there is cash in the vehicle which is recoverable property or intended for use in unlawful conduct and that it is not less than the minimum amount.  The power to search can only be exercised where there is an identifiable person in control of the vehicle and that person (the suspect) is in or in the vicinity of the vehicle.

The new provision does not contain a power to force entry into a vehicle; rather, new s.289(1D) provides that the officer can require the person accompanying the vehicle to permit entry and allow a search of that vehicle.  The power is not exercisable where the vehicle is on certain categories of private property.

Forfeiture of seized cash may be dealt with by a ‘senior officer’ (or equivalent) by issuing a “forfeiture notice” (s.65) – not yet in force
When this is brought into force, these provisions which insert new ss.297A – 297G into POCA, will offer a regime through which ‘a senior officer’ may issue a forfeiture notice which would have the effect of forfeiting seized cash where no objections are made.

Regulations will be required before these provisions can come into effect, however when they do this will provide an expedited route to the forfeiture of cash without requiring an application to be made to the magistrates’ court.

Extension of the scope of Football Banning Orders (ss.103-107) – not yet in force
In addition to other changes, Football Banning Orders will be expanded from just England and Wales to cover the entire United Kingdom.

This note is accurate as of 10th February 2010.