Clause 2 - Penalty notices
Criminal Justice and Police Bill
10:30 am
Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 15, in page 3, line 11, at end insert—
`(6)(a) Any person who, in connection with the giving of a penalty notice by a constable under this section, knowingly or recklessly gives that constable relevant information which is false in any material particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(b) In this subsection, ``relevant information'' means the name, address and date of birth of the person to whom the penalty notice is to be given.'.
I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Hood. At our first sitting, when welcoming Mr. Gale to the Chair, we said that we knew that you, too, would deal with us firmly but in your usual charming and pleasant manner.
The amendment would create an offence of giving false particulars to an officer when a fixed penalty notice is being issued. Given the range of offences in clause 1, there must be a risk that the accused will give false particulars to the officer, such as the wrong address, date of birth and name. That already happens in public disorder incidents. The amendment is designed to deter such behaviour. It is difficult to identify individuals out on the street. The Justices' Clerks Society said that fixed penalties for motoring offences work well because the vehicle number plate and the driver's licence identify the offender. Those advantages would not apply with fixed penalty notices. It would be helpful to have the Minister's view on the likely risk of false details being given and the steps that he thinks should be in place to avoid that happening.
The Association of Chief Police Officers has also expressed worries about notices being issued in the street. It fears that offenders would be unlikely to co-operate with the police in such circumstances. We have only to consider the nature of the penalty offences to realise the risks of drunk, violent offenders being asked to co-operate and give certain details. Even if the police receive details from them, the question arises whether such information is reliable. Unless the offender is quiet and sober, he will have to be taken to the police station—but if he is quiet and sober, he is unlikely to have committed an offence and been served with a fixed penalty notice. How could a police officer rely on the details that a person has given in the street without checking them at the police station?
In reply to the consultation, Sir Edward Crew, chief constable of West Midlands police, said:
``Without doubt the most significant area of concern expressed by colleagues was that the issue of Fixed Penalty Notices, as shown in the consultation paper, would mainly take place on the street. In view of the nature of offences likely to be covered by the . . . system, it seems more appropriate and likely that suspects would be arrested, and the FPN issued in custody as an alternative form of disposal. It would be inappropriate and highly unlikely, for example, that officers should issue tickets to those either drunk, violent, or both. Such offenders may not understand the consequences of a Fixed Penalty Notice and would be unlikely to co-operate with the officer or comply with the payment of the ticket once issued.''
The consultation paper also lacks detail about the custody process.