41 Assaults on constables, etc.S
(1)Any person who—
(a)assaults, resists, obstructs, molests or hinders a constable in the execution of his duty or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, or
(b)rescues or attempts to rescue, or assists or attempts to assist the escape of, any person in custody,
shall be guilty of an offence and on summary conviction shall be liable—
(i)where he has not, within the period of two years immediately preceding the commission of the said offence, been convicted of an offence against this section, to a fine not exceeding [F1level 4 on the standard scale] or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment;
(ii)where he has, within the first-mentioned period, been convicted of an offence against this section, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding nine months [F2or to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum within the meaning of [F3section 225(8) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995], or to both.]
(2)The reference in subsection (1) of this section to a person in custody shall be construed as a reference to a person—
(a)who is in the lawful custody of a constable or any person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, or
(b)who is in the act of eluding or escaping from such custody, whether or not he has actually been arrested.
[F4(3)This section also applies to a constable who is a member of a police force maintained in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland when he is executing a warrant or otherwise acting in Scotland by virtue of any enactment conferring powers on him in Scotland.]
Textual Amendments
F1Words substituted by virtue of Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), s. 289G and by 1995 c. 40, ss. 3, 7(2), Sch. 1 para. 3(1), Sch. 2 Pt. II it is provided (1.4.1996) that s. 41(1) shall have effect as if the maximum fine that may be imposed on summary conviction for the offence mentioned therein were a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale instead of a fine not exceeding £50
F2Words added by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62, SIF 39:1), s. 57
F3Words in s. 41(1)(b)(ii) substituted (1.8.1997) by 1997 c. 48, s. 62(1), Sch. 1 para. 2(5); S.I. 1997/1712, art. 3, Sch.
F4S. 41(3) inserted (3.2.1995) by 1994 c. 33, s. 168(2), Sch. 10 para. 18; S.I. 1995/127, art. 2(1), Sch. 1 Appendix B