Crime and Policing Act 2026

Prospective

Section 63

Schedule 6 E+W CCE prevention orders on conviction

1 E+W In Part 11 of the Sentencing Code, after Chapter 2 insert—

“Chapter 2A E+W Child criminal exploitation prevention orders

Making of orders E+W

358A Power to make child criminal exploitation prevention order

(1) This section applies where a court is dealing with an offender aged 18 or over for an offence.

(2) The court may make an order under section 358B (a “CCE prevention order”) if the following conditions are met.

(3) The first condition is that—

(a) the court is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the offender has engaged in child criminal exploitation or in conduct associated with child criminal exploitation, or

(b) the offence is an offence under section 48 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 (child criminal exploitation).

(4) The second condition is that the court considers that there is a risk that the offender will engage in child criminal exploitation.

(5) The third condition is that the court considers that it is necessary to make the order to prevent the offender from engaging, or reduce the likelihood of the offender engaging, in child criminal exploitation.

(6) In subsection (3)—

(a) the reference to engaging in anything includes engaging in it before (as well as after) the time when Schedule 6 to the Crime and Policing Act 2026 comes into force;

(b) the reference to an offence includes an offence committed before (as well as after) that time.

(7) In this Chapter—

(a) a reference to a person “engaging in child criminal exploitation” is to the person—

(i) doing anything that constitutes an offence under section 48 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 (as it has effect in England and Wales), or

(ii) doing anything in Scotland or Northern Ireland that would constitute an offence under that section (as it has effect in England and Wales) if done in England and Wales;

(b) a reference to a person “engaging in conduct associated with child criminal exploitation” is to the person doing anything, in any part of the United Kingdom, that is associated with the doing of anything within paragraph (a)(i) or (ii).

358B CCE prevention orders

(1) A CCE prevention order is an order which—

(a) prohibits the offender from doing anything described in the order;

(b) requires the offender to do anything described in the order.

The order may in particular require the offender to comply with section 358C (notification requirements).

(2) A court may include a prohibition or requirement only if it considers it necessary for the purpose of preventing the offender from engaging, or reducing the likelihood of the offender engaging, in child criminal exploitation.

(3) Prohibitions and requirements must, so far as practicable, be such as to avoid—

(a) any conflict with any religious beliefs of the offender;

(b) any interference with the times, if any, at which the offender normally works or attends any educational establishment;

(c) any conflict with the prohibitions and requirements of any other court order or injunction to which the offender is subject.

(4) A prohibition or requirement applies throughout the United Kingdom unless expressly limited to a particular area.

(5) A CCE prevention order must—

(a) specify the period for which it has effect (which must be at least five years), or

(b) state that it has effect until further order.

(6) Where—

(a) the offender has been remanded in or committed to custody by an order of a court, or

(b) a custodial sentence has been imposed on the offender or the offender is serving or otherwise subject to a such a sentence,

a CCE prevention order may provide that it does not take effect until the offender is released from custody or ceases to be subject to a custodial sentence.

(7) A CCE prevention order may specify periods for which particular prohibitions or requirements have effect.

(8) Where a court makes a CCE prevention order in respect of an offender who is already subject to such an order, the earlier order ceases to have effect.

358C Notification requirements

(1) This section applies where a CCE prevention order requires the offender to comply with this section.

(2) Before the end of the period of three days beginning with the day on which a CCE prevention order requiring the offender to comply with this section is first served, the offender must notify to the police—

(a) the offender’s name and, where the offender uses one or more other names, each of those names, and

(b) the offender’s home address.

(3) If, while the offender is subject to the order, the offender—

(a) uses a name which has not been notified under the order, or

(b) changes home address,

the offender must notify, to the police, the new name or the new home address.

(4) A notification under subsection (3) must be given before the end of the period of three days beginning with the day on which the offender uses the name or changes home address.

(5) A notification under this section is made—

(a) by attending at an appropriate police station and giving an oral notification to a constable, or to a person authorised for the purpose by the officer in charge of the station, or

(b) in a way specified in the CCE prevention order.

(6) An “appropriate police station” is a police station in the police area in which—

(a) the offender’s home address is situated, or

(b) the court which made the order is situated.

(7) A notification under this section must be acknowledged in writing.

(8) In this section “home address” means—

(a) the address of the offender’s sole or main residence in the United Kingdom, or

(b) where the offender has no such residence, the address or location of a place in the United Kingdom where the offender can regularly be found and, if there is more than one such place, such one of those places as the offender may select.

(9) In determining the period of three days mentioned in subsection (2) or (4), no account is to be taken of any time when the offender is—

(a) lawfully detained or otherwise lawfully deprived of their liberty, in the United Kingdom, or

(b) outside the United Kingdom.

Procedure E+W

358D Procedural powers

(1) For the purpose of deciding whether to make a CCE prevention order, the court may consider evidence led by the prosecution and evidence led by the offender.

(2) It does not matter whether the evidence would have been admissible in the proceedings for the offence for which the offender is being dealt with.

(3) The court may adjourn any proceedings relating to the making of a CCE prevention order.

(4) If the offender does not appear for any adjourned proceedings, the court may—

(a) further adjourn the proceedings,

(b) issue a warrant for the offender’s arrest, or

(c) hear the proceedings in the offender’s absence.

(5) The court may act under subsection (4)(b) only if satisfied that the offender has had adequate notice of the time and place of the adjourned proceedings.

(6) The court may act under subsection (4)(c) only if satisfied that the offender—

(a) has had adequate notice of the time and place of the adjourned proceedings, and

(b) has been informed that if the offender does not appear for those proceedings, the court may hear the proceedings in the offender’s absence.

(7) Nothing in this section limits any other powers of the court.

Variation, discharge and appeals E+W

358E Variation and discharge of orders

(1) This section applies where a person mentioned in subsection (2) applies to a relevant court for the variation or discharge of a CCE prevention order.

(2) The persons are—

(a) the offender;

(b) the chief officer of police for the police area in which the offender lives;

(c) a chief officer of police who believes that the offender is in, or is intending to come to, the chief officer’s police area.

(3) On the application, the court may (after hearing from the applicant and any other person mentioned in subsection (2) who wishes to be heard) make any order varying or discharging the order that the court considers appropriate.

This is subject to subsection (7).

(4) The power to vary an order includes power to—

(a) include an additional prohibition or requirement;

(b) extend the period for which a prohibition or requirement has effect;

(c) extend the period for which the order has effect.

(5) The court may make provision of a kind mentioned in subsection (4) only if it considers that the provision is necessary to prevent the offender from engaging, or reduce the likelihood of the offender engaging, in child criminal exploitation.

(6) Subsections (3), (4) and (6) of section 358B apply to additional prohibitions or requirements included on a variation of an order.

(7) The court may not discharge an order before the end of the period of five years beginning with the day on which the order was made, without the consent of the offender and—

(a) the chief officer of police for the police area in which the offender lives, or

(b) where the application is made by a chief officer of police, that chief officer.

(8) In this section “relevant court” means—

(a) where the Crown Court or the Court of Appeal made the order, the Crown Court;

(b) in any other case, any magistrates’ court.

358F Appeals

(1) A person mentioned in subsection (2) may appeal against a decision made on an application under section 358E.

(2) The persons are—

(a) the person who made the application;

(b) the offender;

(c) the chief officer of police for the police area in which the offender lives;

(d) a chief officer of police who believes that the offender is in, or is intending to come to, the chief officer’s police area.

(3) An appeal under this section is to be made—

(a) where the application was made to the Crown Court, to the Court of Appeal;

(b) in any other case, to the Crown Court.

(4) On an appeal under subsection (3)(b), the Crown Court may make—

(a) such orders as may be necessary to give effect to its determination of the appeal, and

(b) such incidental and consequential orders as appear to it to be appropriate.

Supplementary E+W

358G Offence of breaching CCE prevention order

(1) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a CCE prevention order commits an offence.

(2) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or a fine (or both);

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine (or both).

(3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section, it is not open to the court by or before which the person is convicted to make, in respect of the offence, an order for conditional discharge.

(4) In proceedings for an offence under this section, a copy of the original CCE prevention order, certified by the proper officer of the court that made it, is admissible as evidence of its having been made and of its contents to the same extent that oral evidence of those matters is admissible in those proceedings.

358H Offences relating to notifications

(1) This section applies where a CCE prevention order requires a person to comply with section 358C (notification requirements).

(2) The person commits an offence if—

(a) without reasonable excuse, they fail to comply with that section, or

(b) in purported compliance with that section, they notify to the police any information which they know to be false.

(3) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or a fine (or both);

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine (or both).

(4) A person commits an offence under subsection (2)(a) on the day on which they first fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with section 358C.

(5) The person continues to commit the offence throughout any period during which the failure continues.

(6) But the person may not be prosecuted more than once in respect of the same failure.

(7) Section 358G(4) applies for the purposes of this section.

358I Special measures for witnesses

(1) Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (special measures directions in the case of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses) applies to relevant proceedings under this Chapter as it applies to criminal proceedings, but with—

(a) the omission of sections 17(4) to (7), 21(4C)(e), 22A, 27(10) and 32 of that Act (which make provision appropriate only in the context of criminal proceedings), and

(b) any other necessary modifications.

(2) Rules of court made under or for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of that Act apply to relevant proceedings under this Chapter—

(a) to the extent provided by rules of court, and

(b) subject to any modifications provided by rules of court.

(3) Section 47 of that Act (restrictions on reporting special measures directions etc) applies with any necessary modifications—

(a) to a direction under section 19 of that Act as applied by this section;

(b) to a direction discharging or varying such a direction.

Sections 49 and 51 of that Act (offences) apply accordingly.

(4) In this section “relevant proceedings under this Chapter” means any proceedings under this Chapter except proceedings relating to an offence under section 358G or 358H.

358J Interpretation and supplementary provision

(1) In this Chapter—

• “CCE prevention order” means an order under section 358B;

• “engaging in child criminal exploitation” has the meaning given by section 358A (and related expressions are to be construed accordingly).

(2) An application under this Chapter is to be made—

(a) by complaint, where the application is made to a magistrates’ court;

(b) in accordance with rules of court, in any other case.

(3) Section 127 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (time limit for complaints etc) does not apply to a complaint under this Chapter.

(4) On the hearing of an application under this Chapter, section 97 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (summons to witness and warrant for arrest) does not apply in relation to any person for whose protection the order is sought, except where the person has given oral or written evidence at the hearing.”

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 6 para. 1 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 255(1)

2 E+W In section 80(3) of the Sentencing Code (list of circumstances where an order for conditional discharge is not available) after paragraph (e) insert—

“(ea) section 358G(3) (breach of CCE prevention order);”.

Commencement Information

I2 Sch. 6 para. 2 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 255(1)