Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008

The government set out its commitment to delivering an effective criminal justice system in "rebalancing the criminal justice system in favour of the law-abiding majority" published last year. The Bill would deliver the commitments set out in the review.

The new legislation seeks to ensure the needs of the victims are at heart of what the criminal justice system does. The Bill would toughen up trial processes when an offender fails to appear without good reason, and create new powers to tackle anti-social and violent behaviour. It would also create a new offence to deal with violent pornography and would introduce a generic community sentence for young offenders.

The Bill would make sentencing processes clearer and address imbalances in the process for overturning convictions and releasing offenders and bring compensation for those wrongly convicted into line with that paid to victims of crime.

Introducing the Bill at second reading, the justice secretary Jack Straw told MPs that the chance of becoming a victim of crime since 1997 was at its lowest for 26 years. He cited increased investment in public services as a key reason for bringing down crime. However, Mr Straw stated that increased investment has had to be accompanied by major changes in the environment in which law enforcement and criminal justice agencies operate.

The justice secretary explained that the system and the substantive law needs to be responsive to changing demands from the public and practitioners, and that new laws need to reflect the revolution that had happened in technology and communications.

Chris Bryant (Lab, Rhondda) called the House's attention to the growing number of homophobic attacks, both physical and verbal, and stated that it is "now time that we had an offence of incitement to hatred on grounds of sexual orientation."

The justice secretary launched into a defence of the government's record when it comes to promoting equality and tackling discrimination and bigotry, before informing the House, that as a further step to strengthen the protection afforded to homosexual people, the government would table an amendment in the committee stage "to extend the offence of incitement to racial hatred to cover hatred against persons on the basis of their sexuality."

The justice secretary stated that "it is a measure of how far we have come as a society in the last 10 years that we are all now appalled by hatred and invective directed against gay people, and it is now time for the law to recognise the feeling of the public."

John Redwood (Con, Wokingham) stated that although he had no time for abuse of "any kind", he wanted assurances from the government that freedom of speech for those expressing "Christian views" would be preserved. Mr Straw acknowledged that the government must "be extremely careful to ensure that the law strikes a proper balance," and that he intends to ensure that the draft amendment achieves that.

The justice secretary also raised the prospect of extending the law to cover "transgender" people and the disabled.

A number of other issues were also raised during the second reading of this Bill, including legislation dealing with the production and publication of extreme pornography; new offences to cover disturbances on NHS premises; "proportionality" in sentencing and making sure that 'the punishment fits the crime'; the Appeals process and finally, government plans to give parents more information about convicted child sex offenders.

Responding on behalf of the Conservatives was shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert (Con, Arundel and South Downs). Herbert described the "core purpose and effect of the Bill" as "confused," and that current prisons crisis is one "entirely of the Government’s own making." He said that the Bill is an inadequate response to that crisis.

Explaining his parties position, Herbert stated that that, "on the one hand, we have measures that the Government claim are intended to reduce the prison population—partly in response to the prison overcrowding crisis—but which many experts are claiming will increase the prison population. On the other, we have measures that the Government admit will increase the prison population."

During the fourth day of consideration of the Bill, the junior justice minister, stated that the government wanted the Bill to receive Royal Assent on May 8.

 

House of Commons

First reading: June 26 2007 [HC Bill 130]

Second reading: October 8 2007

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill Committee:

• 1st sitting: October 16 2007 (am)
• 2nd sitting: October 16 2007 (pm)
• 3rd sitting: October 18 2007 (am)
• 4th sitting: October 18 2007 (pm)
• 5th sitting: October 23 2007 (am)
• 6th sitting: October 23 2007 (pm)
• 7th sitting: October 25 2007 (am)
• 8th sitting: October 25 2007 (pm)

2007/08 Session

Re-introduction and First reading: November 8 2007 [HC Bill 1]

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill Committee:

• 9th sitting: November 20 2007 (am)
• 10th sitting: November 20 2007 (pm)
• 11th sitting: November 22 2007 (am)
• 12th sitting: November 22 2007 (pm)
• 13th sitting: November 27 2007 (am)
• 14th sitting: November 27 2007 (pm)
• 15th sitting: November 29 2007 (am)
• 16th sitting: November 29 2007 (pm)

Bill as amended: HC Bill 15

Remaining stages: January 9 2008

House of Lords

First reading: January 9 2008 [HL Bill 16]

Second reading: January 22 2008

Committee of the Whole House:

• 1st sitting: February 5 2008
• 2nd sitting: February 6 2008
• 3rd sitting: February 26 2008
• 4th sitting: February 27 2008
• 5th sitting: March 3 2008
• 6th sitting: March 5 2008
• 7th sitting: March 10 2008
• 8th sitting: March 12 2008
• Bill as amended: [HL Bill 041]
  

Report stage:

• 1st day: March 26 2008
• 2nd day: April 2 2008
• 3rd day: April 21 2008
• 4th day: April 23 2008
• Bill as amended: [HL Bill 51]
  

Third reading: April 30 2008

Consideration of Lords Amendments: May 6 2008 [HC Bill 104]

Consideration of Commons Amendments: May 7 2008 [HL Bill 54]

Royal Assent: May 8 2008