Orders of the Day — Criminal Justice Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 22 November 1971.

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Photo of Mr John Farr Mr John Farr , Harborough 12:00, 22 November 1971

Before dealing with the Bill I will refer to the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North (Mr. Miscampbell). I think it is quite unnecessary to impose strict control on legitimate users of pistols. There are not many of them and they enjoy their pastime, as they have done for many years, in perfect safety and security. Whether or not pistols are banned, they will continue to come into the country through the ports, as they are doing now. This is a lucrative sideline for those who are engaged in the trade.

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on what he said and on the manner in which he presented the Bill. There are certain points with which he dealt in great detail and with which I find myself fully in agreement, notably in relation to restitution by criminals, the criminal bankruptcy method and the proposals for the community services. There is one point, however, which sticks out like a sore thumb to me and that is on Clause 24, which relates to the Firearms Act, 1968.

Those of us who were lucky enough to be at Brighton when my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary spoke of his proposals concerning the Firearms Act, 1968, were much impressed by what he said. Clause 24 lays down that the penalties under the Act shall be increased. I should have more faith in that doing the slightest good if the Firearms Act were working properly. I have turned up a few statistics, and I find that the maximum penalties laid down in that Act have been consistently and regularly ignored by the courts.

Since 1968, there have been about 7,000 successful convictions under the Firearms Act, 1968. The average penalty imposed by the courts has been approximately 4 per cent. of the maximum laid down. For the Home Secretary in the Bill to increase by a few years the penalty for contravening a Section or two of the Act makes little or no difference.

Under the Firearms Act, for using a firearm to resist arrest, which is a serious crime, the maximum penalty is 14 years, or a fine, or both. In 36 successful convictions since 1968 the average prison sentence imposed has been two years seven months. The Bill increases the 14 years' penalty to life imprisonment, but when the courts have so consistently ignored Parliament's wishes, what is the value of increasing the sentence by a marginal amount?

The maximum penalty for carrying a loaded firearm in a public place under the 1968 Act is a fine of £200, or six months' imprisonment, or both. There have been 1,787 successful convictions, but the average fine imposed has been the paltry sum of £7·70. On this evidence what difference would it make if the maximum penalties under Sections 17(2) and 18(1) of the 1968 Act were increased from seven and 10 years to 14 years respectively? The average penalty under Section 17(2) imposed by the courts has been two years five months. Under Section 18(1), which calls for a maximum penalty of 10 years, the average penalty imposed by the courts has been two years six months.

Similar evidence applies to other proposals. In some cases the maximum fine is to be increased from £200 to £400, although only 3 per cent. of the maximum fine has been imposed in the past. It therefore makes little or no difference if the maximum is doubled. I have a list of all the offences under the 1968 Act for which fines of £200 can be imposed. The average fine which has been imposed in many thousands of successful prosecutions since 1968 is in the region of £7 or £8.

Sections 16 and 17(1) of the 1968 Act lay down a maximum penalty of 14 years, which my right hon. Friend is increasing to life. Under Section 16 there have been 63 successful convictions and the average penalty imposed has been only three years one month. Under Section 17(1), on 36 successful convictions since 1968 the average sentence has been only two years seven months.

In the light of this evidence, which is irrefutable as it comes from the Home Office, it is meaningless for Parliament marginally to increase penalties as the Home Secretary proposes. If the intentions of this Bill are not to be made a mockery of, as happened with the 1968 Act, the House must safeguard its intentions by imposing a varying level of minimum penalties as well as maximum penalties.