Criminal Justice Act 1982

19 Breaches of attendance centre orders or attendance centre rules

(1) Where an attendance centre order has been made and it appears on information to a justice acting for a relevant petty sessions area that the offender—

(a) has failed to attend in accordance with the order ; or

(b) while attending has committed a breach of rules made under section 16(3) above which cannot be adequately dealt with under those rules,

the justice may issue a summons requiring the offender to appear at the place and time specified in the summons before a magistrates' court acting for the area or, if the information is in writing and on oath, may issue a warrant for the offender's arrest requiring him to be brought before such a court.

(2) For the purposes of this section a petty sessions area is a relevant petty sessions area in relation to an attendance centre order—

(a) if the attendance centre which the offender is required to attend by an order made by virtue of section 17(1) or 18(6)(b) above is situated in it; or

(b) if the order was made by a magistrates' court acting for it.

(3) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the magistrates' court before which an offender appears or is brought under this section that he has failed without reasonable excuse to attend as mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above or has committed such a breach of rules as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection, that court—

(a) if the attendance centre order was made by a magistrates' court, may revoke it and deal with him, for the offence in respect of which the order was made, in any manner in which he could have been dealt with for that offence by the court which made the order if the order had not been made ;

(b) if the order was made by the Crown Court, may commit him in custody or release him on bail until he can be brought or appear before the Crown Court.

(4) A magistrates' court which deals with an offender's case under subsection (3) (b) above shall send to the Crown Court a certificate signed by a justice of the peace giving particulars of the offender's failure to attend or, as the case may be, the breach of the rules which he has committed, together with such other particulars of the case as may be desirable; and a certificate purporting to be so signed shall be admissible as evidence of the failure or the breach before the Crown Court.

(5) Where by virtue of subsection (3)(b) above the offender is brought or appears before the Crown Court and it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that he has failed to attend as mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above or has committed such a breach of rules as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection, that court may revoke the attendance centre order and deal with him, for the offence in respect of which the order was made, in any manner in which it could have dealt with him for that offence if it had not made the order.

(6) A person sentenced under subsection (3)(a) above for an offence may appeal to the Crown Court against the sentence.

(7) In proceedings before the Crown Court under this section, any question whether there has been a failure to attend or a breach of the rules shall be determined by the court and not by the verdict of a jury.