Office of Public Sector Information
PART 2 continued
(6) That power includes power—
(a) to make different provision for different cases;
(b) to make provision subject to such exemptions and exceptions as the Secretary of State thinks fit; and
(c) to make such incidental, supplemental, consequential and transitional provision as he thinks fit.
(7) In this section—
“colour” is to be construed in accordance with subsection (9);
“de-activated firearm” means an imitation firearm that consists in something which—
was a firearm; but
has been so rendered incapable of discharging a shot, bullet or other missile as no longer to be a firearm;
“real firearm” means—
a firearm of an actual make or model of modern firearm (whether existing or discontinued); or
something falling within a description which could be used for identifying, by reference to their appearance, the firearms falling within a category of actual modern firearms which, even though they include firearms of different makes or models (whether existing or discontinued) or both, all have the same or a similar appearance.
(8) In subsection (7) “modern firearm” means any firearm other than one the appearance of which would tend to identify it as having a design and mechanism of a sort first dating from before the year 1870.
(9) References in this section, in relation to an imitation firearm or a real firearm, to its colour include references to its being made of transparent material.
(10) Section 8 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 (c. 45) (under which firearms are deemed to be deactivated if they are appropriately marked) applies for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of the 1968 Act.
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision requiring imitation firearms to conform to specifications which are—
(a) set out in the regulations; or
(b) approved by such persons and in such manner as may be so set out.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if—
(a) he manufactures an imitation firearm which does not conform to the specifications required of it by regulations under this section;
(b) he modifies an imitation firearm so that it ceases to conform to the specifications so required of it;
(c) he modifies a firearm to create an imitation firearm that does not conform to the specifications so required of it; or
(d) he brings an imitation firearm which does not conform to the specifications so required of it into Great Britain or causes such an imitation firearm to be brought into Great Britain.
(3) An offence under this section shall be punishable, on summary conviction—
(a) in England and Wales, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or with both; and
(b) in Scotland, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or with both.
(4) In relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), the reference in subsection (3)(a) of this section to 51 weeks is to be read as a reference to 6 months.
(5) Regulations under this section may provide that, in proceedings for an offence under this section, it is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that an imitation firearm conforms to the required specification if it, or the description of imitation firearms to which it belongs, has been certified as so conforming by a person who is—
(a) specified in the regulations; or
(b) determined for the purpose in accordance with provisions contained in the regulations.
(6) An imitation firearm brought into Great Britain which does not conform to the specifications required of it by regulations under this section shall be liable to forfeiture under the customs and excise Acts.
(7) In subsection (6) “the customs and excise Acts” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2).
(8) The power of the Secretary of State to make regulations under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(9) That power includes power—
(a) to make different provision for different cases;
(b) to make provision subject to such exemptions and exceptions as the Secretary of State thinks fit; and
(c) to make such incidental, supplemental, consequential and transitional provision as he thinks fit.
(1) After section 24 of the 1968 Act insert—
(1) It is an offence for a person under the age of eighteen to purchase an imitation firearm.
(2) It is an offence to sell an imitation firearm to a person under the age of eighteen.
(3) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) it is a defence to show that the person charged with the offence—
(a) believed the other person to be aged eighteen or over; and
(b) had reasonable ground for that belief.
(4) For the purposes of this section a person shall be taken to have shown the matters specified in subsection (3) if—
(a) sufficient evidence of those matters is adduced to raise an issue with respect to them; and
(b) the contrary is not proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”
(2) In the table in Part 1 of Schedule 6 (punishment), after the entry for section 24(4) insert—
| “Section 24A(1) or (2) | Acquisition by a minor of an imitation firearm and supplying him. | Summary | In England and Wales, 51 weeks or a fine of level 5 on the standard scale, or both. In Scotland, 6 months, or a fine of level 5 on the standard scale, or both. | —” |
(3) In relation to an offence committed in England and Wales before the commencement of section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), the reference to 51 weeks in the entry inserted by subsection (2) of this section is to be read as a reference to 6 months.
(1) In the entry in Schedule 6 to the 1968 Act relating to section 19 of that Act (mode of trial and punishment of possession of firearm or imitation firearm in a public place)—
(a) in paragraph (b) of column 3 (offence to be triable either way except in the case of an imitation firearm or air weapon), omit the words “in the case of an imitation firearm or”; and
(b) in column 4, for “7 years or a fine; or both” substitute—
“(i) if the weapon is an imitation firearm, 12 months or a fine, or both;
(ii) in any other case, 7 years or a fine, or both.”
(2) An offence in England and Wales under section 19 of the 1968 Act in respect of an imitation firearm which is triable either way by virtue of this section is to be treated—
(a) as an offence to which section 282(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) (increase of maximum sentence on conviction of an either way offence) applies; and
(b) as not being an offence to which section 281(5) of that Act (increase of maximum sentence on conviction of a summary only offence) applies.
(3) This section—
(a) applies only to offences committed after the commencement of this section; and
(b) so far as it relates to subsection (3) of section 282 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 or subsection (5) of section 281 of that Act, does not have effect in relation to offences committed before the commencement of that subsection.
(1) In each of the following provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33), for “two” substitute “four”—
(a) section 139(6)(b) (maximum penalty for offence of having knife etc. in public place);
(b) section 139A(5)(a)(ii) (maximum penalty for offence of having knife etc. or offensive weapon on school premises).
(2) This section applies only to offences committed after the commencement of this section.
(1) The Criminal Justice Act 1988 is amended as follows.
(2) In section 141A(1) (prohibition on sale of knives etc. to persons under sixteen), for “sixteen” substitute “eighteen”.
(3) In subsections (5), (8) and (9) of section 141 (defences relating to museums and galleries to offence of manufacture, sale etc. of prescribed weapons), for “prove” substitute “show”.
(4) After subsection (11) of that section insert—
“(11A) It shall be a defence for a person charged in respect of conduct of his relating to a weapon to which this section applies—
(a) with an offence under subsection (1) above, or
(b) with an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979,
to show that his conduct was for the purpose only of making the weapon in question available for one or more of the purposes specified in subsection (11B).
(11B) Those purposes are—
(a) the purposes of theatrical performances and of rehearsals for such performances;
(b) the production of films (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 – see section 5B of that Act);
(c) the production of television programmes (within the meaning of the Communications Act 2003 – see section 405(1) of that Act).
(11C) For the purposes of this section a person shall be taken to have shown a matter specified in subsection (5), (8), (9) or (11A) if—
(a) sufficient evidence of that matter is adduced to raise an issue with respect to it; and
(b) the contrary is not proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
(11D) The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument—
(a) provide for exceptions and exemptions from the offence under subsection (1) above or from the prohibition in subsection (4) above; and
(b) provide for it to be a defence in proceedings for such an offence, or for an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, to show the matters specified or described in the order.
(11E) A statutory instrument containing an order under this section shall not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House.”
(5) The defence in section 141(11A) is not available in relation to so much of any charge as relates to conduct taking place before the commencement of this section.
(1) In the Crossbows Act 1987 (c. 32), in the provisions mentioned in subsection (2), for “seventeen”, in each place it occurs, substitute “eighteen”.
(2) The provisions are—
(a) section 1 (sale and letting on hire);
(b) section 2 (purchase and hiring);
(c) section 3 (possession).
After section 550A of the Education Act 1996 (c. 56) insert—
(1) A member of the staff of a school who has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a pupil at the school may have with him or in his possessions—
(a) an article to which section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies (knives and blades etc.), or
(b) an offensive weapon (within the meaning of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953),
may search that pupil or his possessions for such articles and weapons.
(2) A search under this section may be carried out only where—
(a) the member of the staff and the pupil are on the premises of the school; or
(b) they are elsewhere and the member of the staff has lawful control or charge of the pupil.
(3) A person may carry out a search under this section only if—
(a) he is the head teacher of the school; or
(b) he has been authorised by the head teacher to carry out the search.
(4) Nothing in any enactment, instrument or agreement shall be construed as authorising a head teacher of a school to require a person other than a member of the security staff of the school to carry out a search under this section.
(5) A person who carries out a search of a pupil under this section—
(a) may not require the pupil to remove any clothing other than outer clothing;
(b) must be of the same sex as the pupil; and
(c) may carry out the search only in the presence of another member of the staff who is also of the same sex as the pupil.
(6) A pupil’s possessions may not be searched under this section except in his presence and in the presence of another member of the staff.
(7) If, in the course of a search under this section, the person carrying out the search finds—
(a) anything which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting falls within subsection (1)(a) or (b), or
(b) any other thing which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting is evidence in relation to an offence,
he may seize and retain it.
(8) A person who exercises a power under this section may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for exercising that power.
(9) A person who seizes anything under subsection (7) must deliver it to a police constable as soon as reasonably practicable.
(10) The Police (Property) Act 1897 (disposal of property in the possession of the police) shall apply to property which has come into the possession of a police constable under this section as it applies to property which has come into the possession of the police in the circumstances mentioned in that Act.
(11) An authorisation for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) may be given either in relation to a particular search or generally in relation to searches under this section or to a particular description of such searches.
(12) In this section—
‘member of the staff’, in relation to a school, means—
any teacher who works at the school; and
any other person who, with the authority of the head teacher, has lawful control or charge of pupils for whom education is being provided at the school;
‘member of the security staff’ means a member of the staff whose work at the school consists wholly or mainly of security-related activities;
‘outer clothing’ means—
any item of clothing that is being worn otherwise than wholly next to the skin or immediately over a garment being worn as underwear; or
a hat, shoes, boots, gloves or a scarf;
‘possessions’, in relation to a pupil of a school, includes any goods over which he has or appears to have control.
(13) The powers conferred by this section are in addition to any powers exercisable by the member of the staff in question apart from this section and are not to be construed as restricting such powers.”
After section 85A of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (c. 13) insert—
(1) A member of staff of an institution within the further education sector who has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a student at the institution may have with him or in his possessions—
(a) an article to which section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies (knives and blades etc.), or
(b) an offensive weapon (within the meaning of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953),
may search that student or his possessions for such articles and weapons.
(2) A search under this section may be carried out only where—
(a) the member of staff and the student are on the premises of the institution; or
(b) they are elsewhere and the member of staff has lawful control or charge of the student.
(3) A person may carry out a search under this section only if—
(a) he is the principal of the institution; or
(b) he has been authorised by the principal to carry out the search.
(4) A person who carries out a search of a student under this section—
(a) may not require the student to remove any clothing other than outer clothing;
(b) must be of the same sex as the student; and
(c) may carry out the search only in the presence of another member of staff who is also of the same sex as the student.
(5) A student’s possessions may not be searched under this section except in his presence and in the presence of another member of staff.
(6) If, in the course of a search under this section, the person carrying out the search finds—
(a) anything which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting falls within subsection (1)(a) or (b), or
(b) any other thing which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting is evidence in relation to an offence,
he may seize and retain it.
(7) A person who exercises a power under this section may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for exercising that power.
(8) A person who seizes anything under subsection (6) must deliver it to a police constable as soon as reasonably practicable.
(9) The Police (Property) Act 1897 (disposal of property in the possession of the police) shall apply to property which has come into the possession of a police constable under this section as it applies to property which has come into the possession of the police in the circumstances mentioned in that Act.
(10) An authorisation for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) may be given either in relation to a particular search or generally in relation to searches under this section or to a particular description of such searches.
(11) In this section—
‘member of staff’, in relation to an institution within the further education sector, means any person who works at that institution whether or not as its employee;
‘outer clothing’ means—
any item of clothing that is being worn otherwise than wholly next to the skin or immediately over a garment being worn as underwear; or
a hat, shoes, boots, gloves or a scarf;
‘possessions’, in relation to a student of an institution within the further education sector, includes any goods over which he has or appears to have control.
(12) The powers conferred by this section are in addition to any powers exercisable by the member of staff in question apart from this section and are not to be construed as restricting such powers.”
(1) A member of staff of an attendance centre who has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a relevant person may have with him or in his possessions—
(a) an article to which section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33) applies (knives and blades etc.), or
(b) an offensive weapon (within the meaning of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 (c. 14)),
may search the relevant person or his possessions for such articles and weapons.
(2) A search under this section may be carried out only where the member of staff and the relevant person are on the premises of the attendance centre.
(3) A person may carry out a search under this section only if—
(a) he is the officer in charge of the attendance centre; or
(b) he has been authorised by the officer in charge to carry out the search.
(4) A person who carries out a search of a relevant person under this section—
(a) may not require the relevant person to remove any clothing other than outer clothing;
(b) must be of the same sex as the relevant person; and
(c) may carry out the search only in the presence of another member of staff who is also of the same sex as the relevant person.
(5) A relevant person’s possessions may not be searched under this section except in his presence and in the presence of another member of staff.
(6) If, in the course of a search under this section, the person carrying out the search finds—
(a) anything which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting falls within subsection (1)(a) or (b), or
(b) any other thing which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting is evidence in relation to an offence,
he may seize and retain it.
(7) A person who exercises a power under this section may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for exercising that power.
(8) A person who seizes anything under subsection (6) must deliver it to a police constable as soon as reasonably practicable.
(9) The Police (Property) Act 1897 (c. 30) (disposal of property in the possession of the police) shall apply to property which has come into the possession of a police constable under this section as it applies to property which has come into the possession of the police in the circumstances mentioned in that Act.
(10) An authorisation for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) may be given either in relation to a particular search or generally in relation to searches under this section or to a particular description of such searches.
(11) In this section—
“attendance centre” has the same meaning as in Part 12 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) (see section 221 of that Act);
“officer in charge”, in relation to an attendance centre, means the member of staff for the time being in charge of that centre;
“outer clothing” means—
any item of clothing that is being worn otherwise than wholly next to the skin or immediately over a garment being worn as underwear; or
a hat, shoes, boots, gloves or a scarf;
“possessions”, in relation to a person, includes any goods over which he has or appears to have control;
“relevant person”, in relation to an attendance centre, means a person who is required to attend at that centre by virtue of—
a relevant order (within the meaning of section 196 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44)); or
an attendance centre order under section 60 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c. 6).
(12) The powers conferred by this section are in addition to any powers exercisable by the member of staff of an attendance centre in question apart from this section and are not to be construed as restricting such powers.
In section 139B of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33) (power of entry to search for knives etc. and offensive weapons), in subsection (1) for “believing” substitute “suspecting”.
Schedule 1 (which makes provision consequential on the provisions of this Part relating to minimum sentences) has effect.
(1) In this Part “the 1968 Act” means the Firearms Act 1968 (c. 27).
(2) Expressions used in this Part and in the 1968 Act have the same meanings in this Part as in that Act.
(3) The following provisions of the 1968 Act apply as if sections 28, 29, 32 and 35 to 39 of this Act were contained in that Act—
(a) section 46 (power of search with warrant);
(b) section 51(4) (limitation period for prosecutions);
(c) section 52 (forfeiture and disposal of firearms and ammunition);
(d) section 58 (savings).
(4) Section 35 binds persons in the service of Her Majesty; and for the purposes of—
(a) this section,
(b) that section,
(c) section 37(2)(f),
(d) any rule of law under which any of the provisions of section 28, 29, 32, 36 or 39 do not bind the Crown,
a person is in the service of Her Majesty if he is deemed to be in such service (or to be in the naval, military or air service of Her Majesty) for the purposes of and under section 54 of the 1968 Act (Crown application).
(5) In section 52 of the 1968 Act, after subsection (4) insert—
“(5) In this section references to ammunition include references to a primer to which section 35 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 applies and to an empty cartridge case incorporating such a primer.”
Schedule 2 (which makes provision for Northern Ireland corresponding to that made by the preceding provisions of this Part, other than sections 31 to 35, 42 and 45 to 47) has effect.
Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006