What would breach article 75 of The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008?

On these words an offence is committed where a person assists any person in escaping or attempting to escape from lawful custody, whether in prison or not. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008.

Assisting a prisoner to escape

Q: Is article 75 of The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 a strict liability offence?

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies (intentionally) - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

article 75 of The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008

Status not determined
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Either way
Alcohol licensing, gambling, smoke-free and public health

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

75 For sections 29 and 30 of the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 (c. 18) substitute— Assisting or permitting a person to escape from lawful custody 29 1 A person who assists any person in escaping or attempting to escape from lawful custody, whether in prison or not, is guilty of an offence.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds: a person
Conduct: breaching the provision
Fault element: Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof: No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies (intentionally) - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no fault word in the offence-creating words, but the surrounding provision uses intentionally - which element it governs was not determined.

What would breach article 75?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

On these words an offence is committed where a person assists any person in escaping or attempting to escape from lawful custody, whether in prison or not.
Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine: £5,000
Maximum prison (summary): 1 year
Maximum prison (on indictment): 4 years

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 February 2016
Covers breaches of duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it, and food safety and food hygiene offences. Sentencing turns on culpability and on the seriousness and likelihood of harm risked, not only on the harm that happened.
Imposition of community and custodial sentences: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
When a community order or custody is justified at all, and the presumption against short custodial sentences.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status: Status not determined
Made: 7 May 2008
In force from: Not determined
Extent: Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

Part 2 of this Order makes provision about sentencing, including provision for extended and indeterminate custodial sentences for certain offences and for the release on licence of persons serving custodial sentences. Part 3 makes provision about the assessment and management of the risks posed by certain offenders. Part 4 contains provisions on road traffic offences and Part 5 contains miscellaneous provisions relating to criminal justice.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

SCHEDULE 2SCHEDULE 2
SCHEDULE 2SCHEDULE 2
Causing death or grievous bodily injury by careless or inconsiderate drivingarticle 11A
A specified offence is a “serious offence” for the purposes of this Chapter if it is an offence specified in…article 12(2)
A person is guilty of an offence under this Article if he causes the death of, or grievous bodily injury to,…article 12B
Assisting or permitting a person to escape from lawful custodyarticle 29(1)
Assisting or permitting a person to escape from lawful custodyarticle 29(2)
Facilitating escape by conveying things into prisonarticle 33(1)
Conveyance etc. of List A articles into or out of prisonarticle 34A(1)
Conveyance etc. of List B or C articles into or out of prisonarticle 34B(1)
Conveyance etc. of List B or C articles into or out of prisonarticle 34B(2)
Conveyance etc. of List B or C articles into or out of prisonarticle 34B(3)

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis: the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence: 0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Alcohol licensing, gambling, smoke-free and public healthOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2008