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UK Law Reference
All Legislation
Criminal Law
c. 32
England & Wales

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022

View on legislation.gov.uk

Last amended by Public Order Act 2023 in 2023. Created further protest offences (such as locking on and tunnelling) and adjusted the 'serious disruption' threshold relevant to the public order powers in this Act.

Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.

Summary

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 is a wide-ranging criminal justice statute. It strengthened protections for emergency and other public-service workers (Part 1), placed a 'serious violence duty' on local agencies to collaborate to prevent violence and introduced offensive weapons homicide reviews (Part 2), and significantly expanded police powers over public processions, assemblies, and one-person protests (Part 3), including a new statutory offence of intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance. It also made extensive sentencing and release changes (Part 7), including 'Harper's Law' — a required life sentence for the unlawful manslaughter of an emergency worker — and increased maximum penalties for a range of serious offences.

Key Points

  • Increased penalties for assault on an emergency worker (s.2) and a required life sentence for the manslaughter of an emergency worker — 'Harper's Law' (s.3)
  • Serious violence duty (Part 2, Chapter 1) requiring specified authorities to collaborate and plan to prevent and reduce serious violence
  • Offensive weapons homicide reviews (Part 2, Chapter 2)
  • Expanded police powers to impose conditions on public processions (s.73) and assemblies (s.74), and on one-person protests (s.79)
  • New offence of intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance (s.78)
  • Wide sentencing and release reforms (Part 7), including higher maximum penalties for causing death by dangerous driving

Parts & Sections

Amendments History

2023 — Public Order Act 2023

Created further protest offences (such as locking on and tunnelling) and adjusted the 'serious disruption' threshold relevant to the public order powers in this Act.