Policing and Crime Bill
12:00 pm
Martin Evans: The Bar Council’s view is that several clauses within the Bill represent a great deal more than merely tidying up. It would be wrong to characterise it as simply sorting out problems that have arisen in practice. One final example with regard to cash detention is that it is proposed that a forfeiture order can be made on the application by an officer. It would be for the person whose cash it was, from whom it has been taken, to prove to the civil standard that the cash was not either recoverable property or intended for use in unlawful conduct. That reverses the burden of proof and puts it on the person from whom the money has been taken. With respect, that does not represent tidying up; it is a change.