UK Offence Report

Trespass on the transport systems

article 42(1) of The Ashton Vale to Temple Meads and Bristol City Centre Rapid Transit Order 2013

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 Any person who—

a trespasses on any part of the transport systems which are not situated in

a street; or

b trespasses on any land of the promoter in dangerous proximity to the transport systems or to any electrical or other apparatus used for or in connection with the operation of the transport systems, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

3 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 article 42(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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Ashton Vale to Temple Meads and Bristol City Centre Rapid Transit Order 2013.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
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

The Ministry of Justice records offences under this instrument against offence code 16911 — 16911 - Summary offences under Ashton Vale to Temple Meads and Bristol City Centre Rapid Transit Order 2013. That code may cover several provisions of the instrument, so a count against it is not a count of prosecutions under this provision alone.

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have their own code in the MoJ’s Outcomes by Offence data tool. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
19 December 2013
In force from
9 January 2014
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order authorises Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council (referred to in this Order as the promoter) to construct and operate a guided bus rapid transit system in Bristol and North Somerset, comprising a predominantly guided corridor running from Long Ashton Park and Ride to Prince Street Bridge, an unguided on-street circular route around Bristol city centre (for which powers are not sought in this Order) and a realignment of the existing Bristol Harbour Railway and, for that purpose, compulsorily or by agreement, to acquire land and rights in land and to use land. It contains a number of protective provisions for the benefit of affected undertakings. The Order also contains a number of ancillary and consequential provisions to provide for the construction, maintenance and operation of the rapid transit system. A copy of the Order plans and the book of reference mentioned in this Order and certified in accordance with article 64 (certification of plans, etc.) of this Order, may be inspected free of charge during working hours at the offices of the Bristol City Council at City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR and at the offices of North Somerset Council at Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare BS23 1UJ.

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