The Serious Crime Act 2015 is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
. Introduced in June 2014 as part of the
Queen's Speech
A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened, outlining t ...
opening the 2014-15 session of Parliament, the Bill was sponsored by the Home Office. It was passed by Parliament on 2 March 2015, and received royal assent on 3 March 2015.
The Bill proceeding the Act proposed a 'Cinderella Law' to outlaw causing emotional distress of children, regulate corrupt accountants and other businesses who assist criminal gangs, regulate 'drug cutting agents',
Impact Assessment - Serious Crime Bill
Home Office and deal with offences related to female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
, paedophilia
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...
, and amend the Terrorism Act 2006.
Part 1: Proceeds of Crime
This part amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c.29) (POCA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides for the confiscation or civil recovery of the proceeds from crime and contains the principal money laundering legislation in the UK ...
in determining the extent of a defendant's interest in confiscated property, and amends the procedures surrounding costs and court sentencing. This includes amending, defining, or creating regulations on the extent of a defendant's interest in proceeds of crime, the provision of information by third parties, the time-frame and manner of payment, absconding defendants, and connected purposes.
Part 2: Computer Misuse
This part amends the Computer Misuse Act 1990
The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced partly in response to the decision in ''R v Gold & Schifreen'' (1988) 1 AC 1063 (see below). Critics of the bill complained that it was introduced hastily ...
in relation to hacking, creating viruses or Trojan Horses, the deliberate act of creating serious risk to computers or computer systems and amends the territorial extent of computer crimes. This includes a new offence of impairing a computer to cause damage, with a 14 years' prison sentence for damage to the economy or environment, in addition to ensuring the United Kingdom adopts the EU Directive 2013/40/EU on attacks against information systems.
Part 3: Organised, Serious and Gang-related Crime
This part adopts the ratified UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime
The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC, also called the Palermo Convention) is a 2000 United Nations-sponsored multilateral treaty against transnational organized crime.
History
The convention was adopted by a r ...
. The new 'participation offence' would encompass not just those who carry out an act of serious crime, but those who provide materials, services or related infrastructure. The Bill would extend elements of the Serious Crime Act 2007
The Serious Crime Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes several radical changes to English criminal law. In particular, it creates a new scheme of serious crime prevention orders to frustrate crime in England a ...
to Scotland, and extends the making of a Serious Crime Prevention Order to include firearms offences and the cultivation of cannabis plants.
Part 4: Seizure and Forfeiture of Drug-cutting Agents
This part creates and extends the power of search and seizure warrants related to the investigation into the creation or ownership of substances used when 'cutting' drugs.
Part 5: Protection of Children, etc.
This part extends the definition of child cruelty to incorporate abuse, neglect or psychological damage, and amends existing legislation relating to paedophile material to include publications that advise on how to commit or facilitate sexual offences against children. It also prohibits intentional communication of a sexual nature with a minor (including encouraging the minor to communicate anything of a sexual nature) for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification. Existing legislation on female genital mutilation is also amended by this part. This Part amends the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, making it explicit that suffering of a child can be physical or psychological, and amends the offence of suffocating a child under three.
Part 6: Miscellaneous and General
This part deals with the preparation or training abroad for terrorist related activities, amendments related to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establishi ...
in relation to serious crime, and consequential amendments. The unauthorised possession of a bladed instrument within a prison is made an explicit offence by this Part, amending the Prison Act 1952 to include prisons, secure training centres and young offender institutions.
References
External links
Serious Crime Act 2015
Explanatory notes on the Serious Crime Act 2015
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2014
Civil rights and liberties in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2015