Prison Security Act 1992

by the Parliament of the United Kingdom

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Prison Security Act 1992

1992 CHAPTER 25

An Act to make provision for an offence of prison mutiny and for a new offence and new penalties in connection with escapes from prison.[16th March 1992]

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Offence of prison mutiny. 1.—(1) Any prisoner who takes part in a prison mutiny shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to a fine or to both.

(2) For the purposes of this section there is a prison mutiny where two or more prisoners, while on the premises of any prison, engage in conduct which is intended to further a common purpose of overthrowing lawful authority in that prison.

(3) For the purposes of this section the intentions and common purpose of prisoners may be inferred from the form and circumstances of their conduct and it shall be immaterial that conduct falling within subsection (2) above takes a different form in the case of different prisoners.

(4) Where there is a prison mutiny, a prisoner who has or is given a reasonable opportunity of submitting to lawful authority and fails, without reasonable excuse, to do so shall be regarded for the purposes of this section as taking part in the mutiny.

(5) Proceedings for an offence under this section shall not be brought except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(6) In this section—

“conduct” includes acts and omissions;

“prison” means any prison, young offender institution or remand centre which is under the general superintendence of, or is provided by, the Secretary of State under the 1952 c. 52.Prison Act 1952, including a contracted out prison within the meaning of Part IV of the 1991 c. 53.Criminal Justice Act 1991;

“prisoner” means any person for the time being in a prison as a result of any requirement imposed by a court or otherwise that he be detained in legal custody.

Offences relating to escape. 2.—(1) In section 39 of the Prison Act 1952 (offence of assisting prisoner to escape)—

(a) after the word “prisoner”, in the third place where it occurs, there shall be inserted the words “sends any thing (by post or otherwise) into a prison or to a prisoner”; and

(b) for the words “five years” there shall be substituted the words “ten years”.

(2) In section 22(2)(b) of the 1961 c. 39Criminal Justice Act 1961 (penalty on indictment for harbouring or assisting a person unlawfully at large), for the words “two years” there shall be substituted the words "ten years”.

(3) In that Act of 1961, section 22(1) and the entry in Schedule 4 relating to section 39 of the Prison Act 1952 (which increased from two years to five years the maximum term of imprisonment for an offence under section 39) are hereby repealed.

(4) This section shall not affect the penalty for any offence committed before the commencement of this Act.

Short title, commencement and extent. 3.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Prison Security Act 1992.

(2) This Act shall come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which it is passed.

(3) This Act extends to England and Wales only.