UK Offence Report

Removal of, or interference with, an immobilisation notice or device

regulation 6(3) of The Goods Vehicles (Enforcement Powers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

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

3 A person contravening paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

2 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 6(3)?

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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Goods Vehicles (Enforcement Powers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£500
Standard scale
Level 2
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

in Northern Ireland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (Fines and Penalties (NI) Order 1984 art.5(3)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

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
28 June 2012
In force from
1 July 2012
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.

Section 44 of and Schedule 2 to the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) enable Regulations to be made permitting an authorised person to detain a goods vehicle to which the 2010 Act applies and its contents in circumstances where the person using the vehicle did not hold an operator’s licence for that or any other vehicle. These Regulations are made pursuant to Schedule 2. Regulation 3 empowers an authorised person to detain a vehicle and its contents where the authorised person has reason to believe it is being operated without a licence. Regulation 4 provides for the release of a detained vehicle to an owner (without the need for an application under regulation 9) in circumstances where at the time the vehicle was detained, the person using the vehicle held an operator’s licence (whether or not authorising the use of the vehicle) or the vehicle was not being, and had not been, used in contravention of section 1 of the 2010 Act. Regulations 5 and 6 provide for the immobilisation of vehicles, the details to be included in the immobilisation notice, criminal offences arising from the unlawful removal of, or interference with, immobilisation devices, and the release of immobilised vehicles. Regulations 7 and 8 provide for the removal and delivery of vehicles and contents detained and the giving of notice of detention. Regulations 9 to 11 provide for the owner of a vehicle to make an application to the Department of the Environment (“the Department”) for the return of the vehicle. There is provision for a hearing to be held if a party to an application requests one or the Department so decides. Regulation 12 provides for appeals from a determination of the Department to the Upper Tribunal (such appeals are governed by procedures under the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008). Regulation 13 provides for the return of a vehicle detained where the Department determines that one or more of the grounds specified in regulation 9(4) is made out. Regulation 14 empowers authorised persons to sell or destroy vehicles in other cases and requires an authorised person to serve a notice of disposal of a vehicle on specified persons after the vehicle has been disposed of. Regulation 15 and 16 provide for the return of contents of detained vehicles and the disposal of such contents. Regulation 17 provides for the application of proceeds of sale of any property sold by an authorised person under regulation 14 or 16. It also provides for any proceeds from the sale of property which exceed expenses incurred by the detention of a vehicle and contents, and which are not claimed by any person, to be used to offset costs incurred in the detention of other property under the Regulations. Regulation 18 concerns disputes about the return or disposal of contents of a vehicle or the application of the proceeds of sale of a vehicle or its contents. Such applications are to be made to the Department. There is provision for an appeal to be made from the Department’s determination to a court of summary jurisdiction. Under regulation 19 it is a criminal offence to make a declaration intended to secure the return of property where the declaration is to the person’s knowledge false or in any material respect misleading. Regulation 20 regulates the service of notices under the Regulations. Regulation 21 enables the Department to extend specified periods described in the Regulations where they consider it necessary in order to ensure that a case is dealt with fairly and justly. A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and copies are available from Transport Regulation Unit, Department of the Environment, Bedford House, 16 – 22 Bedford Street, Town Parks, Belfast BT2 7FD or viewed online at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr

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