Christopher Fraser, MP for South West Norfolk, has secured a slot in the House of Commons for a Ten Minute Rule Bill which seeks to amend the law on illegal raves. He will present the Bill to Parliament on Wednesday 20 February. This follows his Debate in Parliament last July.
Currently, the law is geared towards the termination of a rave. Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 allows the police to instruct rave-goers to leave an event. However, unless substantial numbers of police officers are quickly mustered, without notice, in rural areas at night, this is rarely sufficient to deal with the problem.
Christopher Fraser has said: “Since my debate last July, there has been little sign of progress. In the meantime, raves are held somewhere in the county nearly every weekend. I have decided to move matters forward myself, by introducing a Bill to amend the law and give the Police the power to prevent raves taking place, rather than waiting for one to start before being able to deal with it.
“I am looking to change the current legislation, so that police are supported before, during and after a rave. At the moment, the regulations mean that many of these events do not meet the criteria to be categorised as an illegal rave, despite causing considerable distress to local residents and disturbing the surrounding wildlife. If successful, my Bill would expand the definition of a rave, and it would create two new offences of organising a rave and transporting sound equipment for use at a rave. By clamping down on the organisers it will be much easier for the Police to use intelligence gathered to prevent raves and penalise appropriately those who see raves as a get-rich-quick formula, irrespective of the nuisance they cause.
“I will be seeking the Government’s full support on this – this issue is one that affects many rural areas around the country, not just Norfolk. It is time to be proactive in protecting the law-abiding majority from the anti-social behaviour of a few.”
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19 February 2008
Christopher Fraser can be contacted on 020 7219 6293. |