Policing and Crime Bill

My Lords, I expect that I am making a big mistake in not allowing my noble friend Lady Walmsley to move this amendment, because she is having a lot more luck than me this evening—which is all to the good, and it is because her arguments are very powerful. Amendment 152 is another amendment about definition. It would amend the definition of "violence" so that it did not specifically include violence against property, but instead meant serious violence. The final line of the clause provides that "violence", for the purposes of these provisions, can include violence against property. We believe that the use of such extreme coercive measures, without recourse to the criminal courts, is particularly inappropriate if used to restrain not violence against people but simply property damage, or indeed the encouragement or assistance of property damage. If the concern is that property damage is used to intimidate victims of crime, either they should be deemed to fall within the threat of violence against the person for the purposes of Clause 33, or specific provisions should be made for these circumstances. We on these Benches do not believe that ordinary criminal damage is sufficient to trigger these much more extreme powers. I beg to move.