The Government fully recognises the difficult job that police drivers do every day to keep road users and the wider public safe.<\/p>
In September 2017, the Home Office announced a review into the law, guidance and practice surrounding both police pursuits and response driving to ensure that officers have the right legal protections. That included working closely with the police representatives, including the Federation, other government departments and groups representing road users and those advocating road safety.<\/p>
Following the outcome of the review, a consultation was published in May 2018 inviting comments on reforms to certain aspects of road traffic law, the tests set out in the Road Traffic Act 1988 for the offences of careless and dangerous driving, police guidance and training for both pursuit and response driving.<\/p>
The consultation closed in August 2018 and we will shortly announce the next steps.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1561", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Nick Hurd"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-04-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-04-05T12:42:11.747Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-04-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Police: Emergency Calls"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of legal protections for police emergency drivers; and if he will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4005", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Bob Blackman"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harrow East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Bob Blackman"} ], "uin" : "239935"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1105886", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1105886/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4399", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Victoria Atkins"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Louth and Horncastle"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Victoria Atkins"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-04-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-04-04T16:18:48.943Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-03-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Shoplifting: Harrow East"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support convenience retailers in Harrow East to prevent shop theft.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4005", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Bob Blackman"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harrow East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Bob Blackman"} ], "uin" : "238327"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1105887", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1105887/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
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>
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\u2019s 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>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4137", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rory Stewart"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Penrith and The Border"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Rory Stewart"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-04-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-04-03T16:40:51.74Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-03-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Reoffenders: Community Orders"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of commencing Section 151 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to allow courts to deal more appropriately with low-level offences by repeat offenders through the use of community orders rather than fines.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4005", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Bob Blackman"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harrow East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Bob Blackman"} ], "uin" : "238328"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1086597", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1086597/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "