Scrapping hundreds of criminal offences 'could save millions'

The Law Commission said today that millions of people risk being "criminalised" by laws which should be scrapped to save time and money.

Criminal sanctions should only be used to tackle serious wrongdoing and by using civil penalties for minor breaches of the law regulators in fields including farming, food safety, banking and retail sales could save 11m a year.

More than 3,000 criminal offences have come on to the statute book since 1997 when Labour came into power – many of which are rarely used.

Law commissioner Professor Jeremy Horder said: "Relying on the criminal law to deter and punish risky behaviour in regulatory contexts may be an expensive, uncertain and ineffective strategy.

"Civil penalties are quicker and cheaper to enforce but they are not a soft option. People who breach regulations will often discover that civil fines can be higher than the penalties imposed by the courts.

"The commission believes that a principled criminal law should be used by regulators to target only the most serious cases of unacceptable risk-taking."

An increase in the number of agencies set up with the power to make criminal laws has led to thousands more criminal offences being put on the statute book since the late 1980s, the commission said.

In 2008, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs created more than 100 criminal offences in a single Act aimed at reducing the spread of BSE, while the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills introduced 74, said the commission.

It proposed "that, where criminal offences are created in regulatory contexts, they should require proof of fault elements such as intention, knowledge or a failure to take steps to avoid harm being done or serious risks posed".

Existing low-level criminal offences should be repealed where civil penalties could be as effective.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The Government is committed to preserving individual freedoms and reducing the number of unnecessary criminal offences is an important step toward achieving this."