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Tough new measures to tackle violent crime come into force today. The measures, part of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, give police and communities strong powers to tackle violent crimes involving guns, knives, alcohol, mobile phones and football.
Guns and Knives
* From today, it is an offence to use someone to hide or carry a weapon. Previously, offenders could avoid prosecution if they passed a weapon to someone else to hide or carry for them. That person could then be arrested and prosecuted, but the owner of the weapon would go free. This new offence means that the owner of the weapon can now be prosecuted, simply for using someone else to look after it.
* The range of offences for which an offender can be given a mandatory minimum five year sentence is being extended. Until now, the minimum sentence only applied to the offence of simply possessing a prohibited firearm. From today, this will apply to a wider range of possession offences, including possession of firearm with intent to injure; possession of firearm with intent to cause fear of violence; use of firearm to resist arrest; carrying firearm with criminal intent; carrying a firearm in a public place; and trespassing in a building with firearm.
Alcohol
* New powers for Police and trading standards officers to penalise licensed premises that persistently sell alcohol to under-18s. If a licensed premise is found to have sold alcohol to a minor three times in a three month period, the licence-holder now faces prosecution with their licence suspended for three months along with a £10,000 fine.
Mobiles
* From today, it is an offence to offer to or agree to (or offer or agree for a third party to) re-programme a mobile phone. Anyone caught doing this faces up to five years in jail and/or an unlimited fine.
Football
* Two football banning order measures which were due to expire on 27 August 2007 will be enshrined on the statute book:
* The police power to require known troublemakers to surrender their passports five days prior to an overseas match or tournament; and
* The ability of the police to make the case for a banning order based on complaint (for example, using overseas police footage of misbehaviour as evidence) rather than just based on conviction of a football-related offence.
* The maximum period of a banning order made following a complaint from the police increases from three years to five years.
* Ticket touting laws are also extended to cover the sale of unauthorised football match tickets on the internet, leading to a maximum fine of £5,000. It is now illegal to advertise the unauthorised sale of match tickets.
Home Secretary John Reid said:
"The Government's priority is to give police and communities the tools they need to tackle violent crime. These new powers will enable police to better tackle gun and knife crime as well as alcohol-related disorder."
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