Crime and Security Bill

The measures concern the separate issue of gang injunctions. The Conservatives certainly recognise the need to examine measures to deal with the problems of gang-related violence and young people being drawn into gangs. In some parts of the country there are gang rivalries, whether they are based on postcode territories or on the use or wearing of colours by rival gangs, which can mean that serious violence occurs between young people—often the most vulnerable members of our society. We must therefore consider this issue extremely carefully. The question is whether the measures in the Bill to extend gang injunctions to include young people will be effective or workable given that antisocial behaviour orders and other potential tools are already available to the police and to local communities when dealing with gang-related matters. Some such measures can be used to prevent young people from getting involved with gangs and getting caught up in some of the appalling violence that can occur. Certainly when we hear about gangs and serious violence, such as some of the shootings that have taken place, it underlines the need for preventive measures to protect young people from being sucked into that sort of gang existence, which can be extremely difficult to escape once they are in. The measures in the Bill largely date back to the Policing and Crime Act 2009, which introduced a new mechanism to create gang injunctions. Under that legislation, the ambit of those injunctions was limited to adults largely because that mechanism was intended to build on certain aspects of the civil law and on the concept of dealing with a breach as a contempt of court. When the 2009 Act was being debated, the Government accepted that that mechanism would not be a suitable way of dealing with children and young adults because the ultimate sanction available to the courts—a sentence of imprisonment—would have meant sending young people to adult prisons, which would not be appropriate given the need to focus on rehabilitation. It would be better, more effective and within the framework of the existing law for a young person to go to a young offenders institution. The whole mechanism is based on the court ruling that previous injunctions that had been used in the west midlands, under section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972, were not applicable and that authorities had to go down the route of using ASBOs first. We understand and recognise why the Government seek to move forward with this measure to deal with the issue that has been outstanding since the 2009 Act came into being. However, they are seeking to crowbar into civil law various sanctions that might otherwise be available to youth courts when dealing with breaches of ASBOs, for example, and other, more criminal, sanctions. They are creating a hybrid between the criminal law and the civil law by attempting to bolt into the civil law system various sanctions that might otherwise be available under a more criminal approach. We debated this issue at reasonable length in Committee, and I accept and respect the amendments that the Minister has tabled in response to the points that we raised about the need for a clear mechanism for having pre-sentence reports for the courts before they decide whether gang injunctions have been breached and which sanctions are appropriate. Equally, some of the mechanisms that exist in the youth courts should be reflected. If a court thought that a sanction of detention was appropriate, it would have to express its reasons for that decision in open court. We certainly welcome the measures that the Government have sought to introduce in dealing with those technical issues, but I still question whether bolting the measures into the civil structure is the right way of building things. I wonder whether it might be more appropriate for the youth courts to deal with these issues given that we are dealing with a kind of hybrid mechanism that crosses over between criminal and civil law. The youth courts will be more used to dealing with the relevant issues and will know what may or may not be appropriate. Given that they have that knowledge and that they regularly deal with young people in that way, it might be better to bring the approach regarding gang injunctions and young people within the framework, context and scope of the youth courts. The new clause and the associated amendment are therefore designed to test the Minister on the extent to which that line of thinking was adopted to ensure an even-handed approach to the use of the orders and in response to breaches of them, in contrast with antisocial behaviour orders and certain other sanctions that might otherwise operate in the youth court. We need to ensure that there is a level playing field and that these matters will be dealt with appropriately, based on knowledge and experience in dealing with young people. We are in uncharted territory because the provisions that apply to adults have yet to be used. Because they are so new, they have not yet been implemented, so we cannot rely on experience of how they operate in practice and how breaches should be dealt with. Case law must be developed to provide a framework. We are talking about these issues in the abstract, unless the Minister can give the House any new information that was not available when the Committee considered them. It is worth testing the Government to find out whether the right approach has been adopted or whether a different mechanism is needed for young people who are subject to the orders. Before an order can be imposed, the gang connection must be established, as well as the potential criminality associated with the young person's actions and the need to remove that young person from the dark path of gang membership and involvement in activities that may lead to serious criminal behaviour. The question is whether the Government have got their approach to young people the right way round or whether, instead of bolting provisions on to the civil court, the orders should reside in the youth court. I hope the Minister will reflect and confirm that the Government's approach is likely to be effective, proportionate and based on the experience of those dealing with young people in the civil courts. I will listen with interest to the Minister's response to the debate to see whether the Bill has got it right.