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1107781

registered interest
date	29/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Alternatives to Prosecution: Shoplifting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to make an assessment of the effectiveness of out of court disposals for shop theft; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	238625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>We recognise that shoplifting is not a victimless crime. It causes cost and disruption to businesses, as well as damage to communities and consumers. We encourage all victims, including shop workers, to report these crimes to the police so that they can be recorded and dealt with accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>A report by the Centre for Social Justice issued last year concluded that people addicted to heroin and crack cocaine account for 70% of shop thefts. We are committed to ensuring the most vulnerable offenders, including those with drug addictions, are able to access support at the right time. This includes diverting offenders away from custody where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>Out of Court Disposals are one important tool available in addressing shop theft – they allow the police to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level offending. Where an Out of Court Disposal is appropriate, we encourage the use of disposals which have a condition attached (be that rehabilitative, reparative, punitive or restrictive). This can achieve rapid compensation and/or divert vulnerable offenders with substance misuse or mental health issues into rehabilitative services to address the root causes of their offending behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>We pay attention to trends and changes in the use of Out of Court Disposals on an ongoing basis.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 08/04/2019 16:32:47 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1107782

registered interest
date	29/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Alternatives to Prosecution
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to implement simplified out of court disposals following the 2014 pilot on adult out of court disposals; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	238626
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>Out of Court Disposals (OOCDs) allow police to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level offending without recourse to the courts.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to ensuring the most vulnerable offenders can access community-based support, and recognise the benefits of early intervention. So, where an OOCD is appropriate, we encourage the use of disposals which have a condition attached (be that rehabilitative, reparative, punitive or restrictive), which can achieve rapid compensation for victims and/or divert offenders into rehabilitative services to address the root causes of their offending behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>We are working in partnership with the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) whose <em>Charging and Out of Court Disposals</em> strategy supports forces moving to the simplified two-tier framework when it is operationally and financially viable.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 08/04/2019 16:34:46 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1107783

registered interest
date	29/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Retail Trade: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward stronger sanctions on people who attack shopworkers; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	238627
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and assaults on shop-workers are unacceptable.</p><p> </p><p>There are a range of offences someone can be convicted of if they assault a shop-worker. Maximum penalties for offences are set by Parliament and include five years’ custody for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and life imprisonment for the most serious cases of causing grievous bodily harm. There are no plans to increase sentences for assault offences.</p><p> </p><p>When making sentencing decisions the courts must follow the relevant sentencing guidelines, produced by the independent Sentencing Council. The <em>Overarching Principles: Seriousness Guideline</em> and <em>Assault Guideline</em> require the court to treat the fact that an offence was committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public as an aggravating factor, making the offence more serious. The Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated later this year.</p><p> </p><p>On 21 January the Home Office announced the launch of a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers. The aim of this work is to strengthen our understanding of the issue, including how existing legislation is being applied. The National Retail Crime Steering Group will continue to provide input on tackling this issue.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 08/04/2019 16:08:07 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1107784

registered interest
date	29/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Reoffenders: Community Orders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of commencing section 151 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to allow courts to deal with low-level offences by repeat offenders through the use of community orders; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	238628
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>There are no current plans to commence Section 151 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which allows courts, in certain circumstances, to use community orders for repeat offenders who might otherwise expect to receive fines.</p><p> </p><p>Section 143(2) of that Act requires courts to treat previous convictions as an aggravating factor when sentencing. For shop theft offences, the Sentencing Council’s guideline on theft offences came into force in 2016. This guideline allows for the imposition of community sentences for shop theft in a wide range of circumstances. In cases involving significant persistent offending, the community and custodial thresholds may be crossed even though the offence otherwise warrants a lesser sentence.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 08/04/2019 16:36:50 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne