Understanding the Crime & Policing Act 2026 - What is in Force & What Matters

Introduction

As with many modern Acts of Parliament, the legislation is brought into force on a piecemeal basis via commencement orders (statutory instruments). This is a major piece of legislation consisting of 257 sections and 27 schedules. It is therefore important that anyone (prosecutors/defence lawyers/legal advisers) involved in advising in the area of criminal law is up to date with the Act.

This short webinar will consider those parts of the Act in force at the time of the recording. It will also deal with the key provisions of the Act and key changes practitioners need to be aware of.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• Respect Orders - a new Civil Order created by the Act
• Increased powers to seize motor vehicles used in antisocial behaviour
• The removal of the £200 low-value shoplifting threshold
• Breach of a Domestic Abuse Protection Order to be made a criminal offence across the whole of the UK
• A new aggravating factor for domestic abuse murders involving strangulation
• A new specific offence of cuckooing
• A new offence of possessing a knife with intent to use in crime, even if no violence occurs
• Spiking to be made a standalone criminal offence
• Drug test upon arrest for more trigger offences, not just after charge
• A ban on zombie-style knives and machetes
• Increase in maximum penalty from 6 months to 2 years for possession of certain offensive weapons
• A new stand-alone offence of assaulting a retail worker

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Friday 14th August 2026

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 2,400+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.