Clause 30 - Authorisations: supplemental
Anti-social Behaviour Bill
11:15 am
Mr Matthew Green (Ludlow, Liberal Democrat)
Several issues have been raised. The Minister provided some clarification on the issue of recording people's details, but there is still concern about what would happen where quite a large group was given a dispersal order. Where two officers tell a group of 30 people to disperse, there may be concerns about their ability to write down exactly to whom they gave the order. If someone is caught the next day, his
defence might be, ''I wasn't in that group of 30 people.'' The Minister may want to deal with those issues in guidance. People may, of course, discover when and where the powers do not work as they use them in practice. Obviously, there will not be such a problem if there is CCTV in the area. None the less, there is a potential problem, although the Minister has gone some way towards dealing with it.
We heard the Minister's justification for the use of imprisonment. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole (Mrs. Brooke), I hope that the courts will use community sentences in many cases, because they will probably be far more appropriate. The Minister says that the provisions are in line with other legislation, and that may be the case. However, some issues remain open, and he may want to consider them before issuing guidance to police officers. With that, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Clause 30 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 31 ordered to stand part of the Bill.