Protecting your civil liberties

Without civil liberties where are we as a society? Rights and freedoms are fundamental to building a free, fair and open society and protecting civil liberties lies at the heart of this.

The Coalition has passed the Protection of freedoms Act, which was based on Liberal Democrat proposals to scrap the most intrusive laws introduced by the last government.

The Protection of Freedoms Act will:

• stop councils snooping
• end the storage of DNA of innocent people
• reduce the bureaucracy of CRB checks
• end 28-day detention
• stop schools deciding on their own to take fingerprints of children
• Make stalking a criminal offence
• End wheel clamping on private land
• Delete historical convictions for men who have had consensual gay sex with someone who was over 16

For the full legislation click here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/contents/enacted

This is just one area of policy I feel very strongly about and if I am Cornwall and Devon Police and Crime Commissioner civil liberties will be at the forefront of my decision making.