UK lawmakers debate controversial new on law on protests and policing

Legislators will begin debate this week on the new UK crime bill that aims to impose new restrictions on protests in hopes to create a safer environment for both citizens and law enforcement officers in England and Wales.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill includes significant proposals on crime and justice. The bill reads "The first duty of government is to protect its citizens and communities, keep them safe and to ensure that they can get on with their daily lives peacefully and without unnecessary interference. The measures in the bill are directed to this end."

The bill would change policing powers at protests, enacting stricter rules towards those participating in unruly and unlawful acts.

According to BBC News, "If the police want to place restrictions on a protest, they generally have to show it may result in "serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community."

Law enforcement officers can dictate routes of marches and must thrash out details early in advance when it comes to major events.

If passed, The Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill will give Police Chiefs the authority to impose more conditions on static protests. Police will be allowed to impose a start and finish time, set noise limits, and apply these rules to a demonstration by just one person.

For example, if police impose a noise restriction and an individual chooses to express their views on a loud-speaker while refusing police orders, they could be fined up to £2,500.

The bill will incriminate protesters who fail to abide by the new changes in law without receiving a direct order from an officer. However if police officers decide to call a new order during the midst of the protest, police officers will need to prove with evidence that orders were given to protesters before they can be said to have broken the law.

The bill is designed to prevent lawless protesting and includes an offence of "intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance."

The proposed law details that those who damage memorials could face up to 10 years in prison, which comes after the most recent toppling of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.

Both England and Wales have been at the height of unruly protests throughout the years which led to Ministers and police working together on these new proposals towards protests.

According to BBC News, police commanders have to show they have taken the Human Rights Act into account which protects citizens' rights to protest and express themselves.

As of now, protests can be limited by police if they believe they have good reason to impose restrictions on an event to ensure public safety or to prevent crime, but law enforcement agencies have been riddled with lawsuits in the past for this very issue.

Critics of the bill say the legislation is "a mess." The Labour Party shadow justice secretary David Lammy says the government is trying to rush through Parliament "poorly thought-out measures to impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to protest."

However, there are more proposals to the bill then strictly the new restrictions on protests. Other parts of the legislation toughen sentencing for serious violent and sexual offences as well as introduces new police bail rules for suspects under investigation. The bill also places a legal duty on police and local authorities to create a joint action plan to tackle serious violence.