Public Order Act 1986

39 Power to direct trespassers to leave land. E+W

(1) If the senior police officer reasonably believes that two or more persons have entered land as trespassers and are present there with the common purpose of residing there for any period, that reasonable steps have been taken by or on behalf of the occupier to ask them to leave and—

(a) that any of those persons has caused damage to property on the land or used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards the occupier, a member of his family or an employee or agent of his, or

(b) that those persons have between them brought twelve or more vehicles on to the land,

he may direct those persons, or any of them, to leave the land.

(2) If a person knowing that such a direction has been given which applies to him—

(a) fails to leave the land as soon as reasonably practicable, or

(b) having left again enters the land as a trespasser within the period of three months beginning with the day on which the direction was given,

he commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or both.

(3) A constable in uniform who reasonably suspects that a person is committing an offence under this section may arrest him without warrant.

(4) In proceedings for an offence under this section it is a defence for the accused to show—

(a) that his original entry on the land was not as a trespasser, or

(b) that he had a reasonable excuse for failing to leave the land as soon as reasonably practicable or, as the case may be, for again entering the land as a trespasser.

(5) In this section—

• “land” does not include—

  (a)

  buildings other than—

  (i)

  agricultural buildings within the meaning of section 26(4) of the M1 General Rate Act 1967, or

  (ii)

  scheduled monuments within the meaning of the M2 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979;

  (b)

  land forming part of a highway;

• “occupier” means the person entitled to possession of the land by virtue of an estate or interest held by him;

• “property” means property within the meaning of section 10(1) of the M3 Criminal Damage Act 1971;

• “senior police officer” means the most senior in rank of the police officers present at the scene;

• “trespasser”, in relation to land, means a person who is a trespasser as against the occupier of the land;

• “vehicle” includes a caravan as defined in section 29(1) of the M4 Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960;

and a person may be regarded for the purposes of this section as having the purpose of residing in a place notwithstanding that he has a home elsewhere.

Marginal Citations

M1 1967 c. 9.

M2 1979 c. 46.

M3 1971 c. 48.

M4 1960 c. 62.