UK Offence Report

Obstruction of officers

article 61(1) of The Saundersfoot Harbour Empowerment Order 2011

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 intentionally obstructs an officer of the Commissioners acting in pursuance of this Order;

b without reasonable excuse fails to comply with

a requirement properly made by such an officer; or

c without reasonable excuse fails to give such an officer any information which that officer may require for the purpose of the performance of his or her functions; 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

r of the Commissioners acting in pursuance of this Order; b without reasonable excuse fails to comply with a requirement properly made by such an officer; or c without reasonable excuse fails to give such an officer any information which that officer may require for the purpose of the performance of his or her functions; is guilty of an offenc

What would breach article 61(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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Saundersfoot Harbour Empowerment Order 2011.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

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

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
21 June 2011
In force from
1 July 2011
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 reconstitutes Saundersfoot Harbour Commissioners as from 1 October 2011. It provides for the Saundersfoot Harbour Commissioners to consist of a body of eight Commissioners with experience in relevant matters, two of whom will be appointed by key stakeholders and six by an appointments panel. The Order— enables the Commissioners to acquire compulsorily the land and interests at Saundersfoot Harbour; modernises the Commissioners' powers to— manage and regulate the harbour, charge ship, harbour and goods dues, control works and dredging, and borrow and use money; makes new provision about the appointment and liability of the Commissioners and the manner in which they are to conduct their business; establishes an advisory committee; and revokes the current legislation regulating the harbour, the Saundersfoot Harbour Order 1958 (S.I. 1958 No. 886). Schedule 1 contains the Commissioners' declaration of acceptance of office. Schedule 2 sets out incidental provisions relating to the Commissioners. The land that may be acquired compulsorily by the Commissioners is described in Schedule 3 to this Order and shown in a plan which is set out in Schedule 4 to this Order. A map showing the limits of Saundersfoot Harbour is set out in Schedule 5 to this Order

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