UK Offence Report

Powers to stop and search vehicles and vessels

regulation 9(2) of Bovines and Bovine Products (Despatch Prohibition and Production Restriction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (revoked)

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

2 Any person who, when required to do so under paragraph (1), fails to stop any vehicle shall be 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach regulation 9(2)?

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.

  1. Not doing what the provision requires under the Bovines and Bovine Products (Despatch Prohibition and Production Restriction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 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.

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
15 August 1997
In force from
16 August 1997
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

(This note is not part of the Regulations.) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations give new effect to Commission Decision 96/239/EC on emergency measures to protect against bovine spongiform encephalopathy, as amended by Commission Decision 96/362/EC, in relation to the despatch to third countries and other member States of bovine animals and embryos and meat and other products from bovine animals. Regulation 3 prohibits the despatch from Northern Ireland to another member State or a third country of— bovine animals or bovine embryos meat derived from bovine animals slaughtered in the United Kingdom products obtained from bovine animals slaughtered in the United Kingdom (with the exception of controlled bovine by-products) which are liable to enter the human food or animal feed chains, or which are destined for use in cosmetic products, medical products or pharmaceutical products meat meal, bonemeal or meat and bonemeal derived from any mammal. Regulation 3 also prohibits the bringing of any of these goods to any place in Northern Ireland for the purpose of their despatch to another member State or a third country and it prohibits their consignment for the purpose of any such despatch. The Regulations revoke and replace the Bovine Products (Production and Despatch) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and make provision for the control of production from bovine animals of gelatin, tallow and related products (regulation 4); for the control of the consignment of material containing bovine vertebral column to establishments approved under the Regulations (regulation 5); for the use of gelatin, tallow and related products (regulation 6); and the approval of establishments used for the despatch of meat and products derived from it (regulation 7). Regulation 8 makes provision for the Department to charge fees in respect of its costs reasonably incurred in the control exercised under regulation 3(4)(b) and 4(4)(b), for the issue of health certificates under regulation 3(3) and 3(4)(c), the registration of premises pursuant to regulation 4 and the approval of establishments pursuant to regulation 7. Regulation 9 confers on inspectors and customs officers powers to stop and search vehicles and vessels reasonably suspected of carrying goods the despatch of which to other member States or third countries is prohibited. Regulation 10 provides powers of entry to premises. Regulation 11 provides powers to seize goods. It makes provision for the destruction of goods, the despatch of which to other member States or third countries, is prohibited, where a justice of the peace is satisfied there is a risk of despatch abroad. Regulation 13 confers power on customs officers to detain vehicles and vessels. Regulation 14 makes provision for suspension notices and orders, suspending the use of business premises for the receipt or despatch of such goods. Regulations 15 and 16 provide offences and penalties, and regulation 17 provides that the Regulations are enforced by the Department and District Councils.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

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