LEVELLING THE LAND 

The Levellers press release on the criminal justice bill 

For some time now the Levellers have been involved with a number of
environmental protest groups,travellers support groups,squatting support
agencies, civil liberties campaigners and people who are striving to make life
in this country more interesting,pleasant and just. Consequently we are among
the first to realise the serious threat to justice and civil liberties contained
in the Criminal (In)Justice and Public order bill. The bill if passed will 


*Make a travelling lifestyle a criminal offence * make non-violent direct action
a criminal offence * privatise the correctional facilities for young offenders *
remove the right for people who are being evicted from their homes to be present
at the court hearing that will decide on their future * make attending any
unlicenced celebratory gatherings a criminal offence * make it legal for the
police to pull out samples of a detainees hair and search their mouths without
permission * make it illigal for a jornalist to investigate the activities of
`terrorists' organisations * change the legislation arond the rigth to silence
that has been considered fair and just for three and a half centuries,such that
a detainees silence under interrogation can be used to infer guilt * take the
control of bail conditions form the courts and give it to the police (this can
be used to back up measures to criminalise peaceful protest) * make way for
build up of personal information (including genetic codes) on people who have
not been convicted of any crime * bring back the prison hulks last seen in
Victorian times * bring back SUSS laws(stop and search on suspicion) An
amendment to this section will target certain areas such as Clubs, Festival
sites and areas within towns and cities such as streets and housing estates. 


Its direct effect will be to increase homelessness, fill the newly privatised
prisons with young people who have a conscience and increase urban arrests. It
will not promote justice, clamp down on crime or improve public order.
Legislation within this bill contravenes international human rights law. This
legislation is opposed by Libery (National council for civil liberties), Shelter,
Char (Housing campaign for single people),Shac, Amnesty International, the
Association of Metropolitan Authorities,Metropolitan Police Federation ,
GreenPeace,The Green Party,the Advance Party, the Law Society, and numerous
respectable and peaceful campaigning organisations and all people with a genuine
conscience who have read the execrable thing. 
A large proportion of the bill is intended to criminalise lifestyles that the
Tory voters disaprove of. These opinions are not made from an informed position,
but because ao an irrational fear of the unknown. We would normally expect an
intelligent government to see through hysterical reactions and take into account
bigotry and ignorance when forming legislation. This is clearly not the case
with this bill. Either its proposers are too stupid to realise that what they
propose sets dangerous precidents and is morally unjustifiable or they are aware
of this and are sufficiently morally bankrupt ot choose to ignore this. 

