Clause 35 - Police powers for police authority employees
Police Reform Bill [Lords]
11:15 am
Mr Norman Baker (Lewes, Liberal Democrat)
I can only respond by repeating points that I have already made. I am happy to recognise that CSOs will receive training. However, they will not and cannot receive the same depth of training as the police. They will not be trained as well as the police.
I painted a scenario in which a CSO would not immediately charge into immediate detention for 30 minutes, but in which that would be the cumulative effect. I do not think that CSOs will go into a situation and say, ''Right, you'll be detained for 30 minutes.'' However, a situation may occur in which detention is the logical conclusion. A CSO will consider that that happens when a situation gets out of hand and is particularly stressful, but not if it is low key. CSOs will try to detain if the situation is potentially dangerous. I repeat that I believe that that will put them in a difficult situation that is unfair and exposes them unnecessarily.
Amendment No. 42 relates to the power of CSOs to issue fixed penalty notices. One issue relates to section 5 of the Criminal Law Act 1967, which is about wasting police time. That is extraordinary, and I hope that I have read the provision correctly—the Minister
will tell me if I am wrong. Does the provision apply to wasting a CSO's time? Does the definition of ''police'' include other people?
A range of issues have been exhausted during discussion of previous amendments but, clearly, the power that the Government wish to give to CSOs—
It being twenty-five minutes past Eleven o'clock, The Chairman adjourned the Committee without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
Adjourned till this day at half-past Two o'clock.