UK Offence Report

False answers on enlistment

regulation 12(1) of The Armed Forces (Enlistment) Regulations 2009

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

1 A person commits an offence if, on appearing before

a recruiting officer and offering to enlist in the regular forces, he knowingly gives

a false answer to any question approved by or on behalf of the Defence Council for inclusion in an enlistment paper and put to him by or on the direction of the recruiting officer.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (knowingly).

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

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly.

What would breach regulation 12(1)?

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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Armed Forces (Enlistment) Regulations 2009.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
£200
Standard scale
Level 1
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
20 July 2009
In force from
31 October 2009
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 make provision with respect to the enlistment of persons in the regular forces. Regulation 3 requires enlistment to be undertaken by recruiting officers, and provides for the appointment of such officers. Regulation 4 prohibits the enlistment of persons under the age of 16, and makes the purported enlistment of such a person void unless the recruiting officer is satisfied that the person is at least 16; but the recruiting officer’s signature on the enlistment paper is sufficient evidence that he was so satisfied unless the contrary is proved. Regulation 5 requires the written consent of a parent or other appropriate person (if such a person can be identified), or in some cases more than one such person, before a person under the age of 18 may be enlisted. Regulation 6 enables a person enlisted into the regular army to be enlisted for service in a corps or for general service. Regulation 7 sets out the procedure for enlistment, including the attestation of the enlistment by the recruiting officer and delivery of the completed enlistment paper to an approving officer. Regulations 8 to 11 make provision as to the validity of an enlistment. Regulations 8 and 9 allow the enlistment to be declared invalid by the approving officer or, on application, the Defence Council. The recruit may make an application to the Defence Council within three months of the enlistment (or before his 16th birthday, if later). If he was aged under 18 at the time of the enlistment, his parent or other appropriate person may also apply. Where his enlistment is declared invalid, regulation 10 requires him to be discharged, but he is deemed to be a member of the regular forces until discharged. Regulation 11 deems an enlistment to be valid unless it has been declared invalid under regulation 8 or 9 or is void under regulation 4 or any other enactment. Regulation 12 creates an offence of knowingly giving a false answer to any question in the enlistment paper put to the recruit by the recruiting officer. The offence may be tried by a civilian court, but is also a service offence if the recruit is enlisted and thus becomes subject to service law. The Schedule contains transitional provisions.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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 “commits 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