Criminal Justice Act 1988

[ 139A F1 Offence of having article with blade or point (or offensive weapon) on school premises. E+W

(1) Any person who has an article to which section 139 of this Act applies with him on school premises shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Any person who has an offensive weapon within the meaning of section 1 of the M1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953 with him on school premises shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article or weapon with him on the premises in question.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3) above, it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above to prove that he had the article or weapon in question with him—

(a) for use at work,

(b) for educational purposes,

(c) for religious reasons, or

(d) as part of any national costume.

(5) A person guilty of an offence—

(a) under subsection (1) above shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [F2 four] years, or a fine, or both;

(b) under subsection (2) above shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years, or a fine, or both.

[F3 (5A) Subsection (5B) applies where—

(a) a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) by a court in England and Wales,

(b) the offence was committed after this subsection is commenced, and

(c) when the offence was committed, the person was aged 16 or over and had at least one relevant conviction (see section 139AZA).

(5B) Where this subsection applies, the court must impose an appropriate custodial sentence (with or without a fine) unless the court is of the opinion that there are particular circumstances which—

(a) relate to the offence, to the previous offence or to the offender, and

(b) would make it unjust to do so in all the circumstances.

(5C) In this section “ appropriate custodial sentence ” means—

(a) in the case of a person who is aged 18 or over when convicted, a sentence of imprisonment for a term of at least 6 months;

(b) in the case of a person who is aged at least 16 but under 18 when convicted, a detention and training order of at least 4 months.

(5D) In considering whether it is of the opinion mentioned in subsection (5B) in the case of a person aged 16 or 17, the court must have regard to its duty under section 44 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (general considerations).

(5E) Where—

(a) an appropriate custodial sentence has been imposed on a person under subsection (5B), and

(b) a relevant conviction without which subsection (5B) would not have applied has been subsequently set aside on appeal,

notice of appeal against the sentence may be given at any time within 28 days from the date on which the conviction was set aside (despite anything in section 18 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (initiating procedure)).

(5F) Where an offence is found to have been committed over a period of two or more days, or at some time during a period of two or more days, it shall be taken for the purposes of this section to have been committed on the last of those days.

(5G) In relation to times before the coming into force of paragraph 180 of Schedule 7 to the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, the reference in subsection (5C)(a) to a sentence of imprisonment, in relation to an offender aged under 21 at the time of conviction, is to be read as a reference to a sentence of detention in a young offender institution.]

(6) In this section and section 139B, “ school premises ” means land used for the purposes of a school excluding any land occupied solely as a dwelling by a person employed at the school; and “ school ” has the meaning given by [F4 section 4 of the Education Act 1996 ] .

(7) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland—

(a) the reference in subsection (2) above to section 1 of the M2 Prevention of Crime Act 1953 is to be construed as a reference to Article 22 of the M3 Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987; and

(b) the reference in subsection (6) above to [F4 section 4 of the Education Act 1996 ] is to be construed as a reference to Article 2(2) of the M4 Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986. ]

Extent Information

E1 This version of this provision extends to England and Wales only; a separate version has been created for Northern Ireland only

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 139A inserted (1.9.1996) by 1996 c. 26, s. 4(1)(4); S.I. 1996/2071, art. 2

F2 Word in s. 139A(5)(a)(ii) substituted (E.W.) (12.2.2007) by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38), ss. {42(1)(b)}, 66(2); S.I. 2007/74, art. 2(a)

F3 S. 139A(5A)-(5G) inserted (17.7.2015) by Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (c. 2), ss. 28(6), 95(1); S.I. 2015/1463, art. 2(a)

F4 Words in s. 139A(6)(7) substituted (1.11.1996) by 1996 c. 56, ss. 582(1), 583(2), Sch. 37 Pt. I para.69 (with ss. 1(4), 582(3), Sch. 39)

Marginal Citations

M1 1953 c. 14.

M2 1953 c. 14.

M3 S.I. 1987/463 (N.I. 7).

M4 S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3).

[ 139A F1 Offence of having article with blade or point (or offensive weapon) on school premises. N.I.

(1) Any person who has an article to which section 139 of this Act applies with him on school premises shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Any person who has an offensive weapon within the meaning of section 1 of the M1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953 with him on school premises shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article or weapon with him on the premises in question.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3) above, it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above to prove that he had the article or weapon in question with him—

(a) for use at work,

(b) for educational purposes,

(c) for religious reasons, or

(d) as part of any national costume.

[F5 (5) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years, or to a fine, or to both.]

[F3 (5A) Subsection (5B) applies where—

(a) a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) by a court in England and Wales,

(b) the offence was committed after this subsection is commenced, and

(c) when the offence was committed, the person was aged 16 or over and had at least one relevant conviction (see section 139AZA).

(5B) Where this subsection applies, the court must impose an appropriate custodial sentence (with or without a fine) unless the court is of the opinion that there are particular circumstances which—

(a) relate to the offence, to the previous offence or to the offender, and

(b) would make it unjust to do so in all the circumstances.

(5C) In this section “ appropriate custodial sentence ” means—

(a) in the case of a person who is aged 18 or over when convicted, a sentence of imprisonment for a term of at least 6 months;

(b) in the case of a person who is aged at least 16 but under 18 when convicted, a detention and training order of at least 4 months.

(5D) In considering whether it is of the opinion mentioned in subsection (5B) in the case of a person aged 16 or 17, the court must have regard to its duty under section 44 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (general considerations).

(5E) Where—

(a) an appropriate custodial sentence has been imposed on a person under subsection (5B), and

(b) a relevant conviction without which subsection (5B) would not have applied has been subsequently set aside on appeal,

notice of appeal against the sentence may be given at any time within 28 days from the date on which the conviction was set aside (despite anything in section 18 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (initiating procedure)).

(5F) Where an offence is found to have been committed over a period of two or more days, or at some time during a period of two or more days, it shall be taken for the purposes of this section to have been committed on the last of those days.

(5G) In relation to times before the coming into force of paragraph 180 of Schedule 7 to the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, the reference in subsection (5C)(a) to a sentence of imprisonment, in relation to an offender aged under 21 at the time of conviction, is to be read as a reference to a sentence of detention in a young offender institution.]

[F5 (6) In this section and section 139B “ school premises ” means land used for the purposes of a school, excluding any land occupied solely as a dwelling by a person employed at the school; and “ school ” has the meaning given by Article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986. ]

(7) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland—

(a) the reference in subsection (2) above to section 1 of the M2 Prevention of Crime Act 1953 is to be construed as a reference to Article 22 of the M3 Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987; and

F6 ( b ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

Extent Information

E2 This version of this provision extends to Northern Ireland only; a separate version has been created for England and Wales only

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 139A inserted (1.9.1996) by 1996 c. 26, s. 4(1)(4); S.I. 1996/2071, art. 2

F3 S. 139A(5A)-(5G) inserted (17.7.2015) by Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (c. 2), ss. 28(6), 95(1); S.I. 2015/1463, art. 2(a)

F5 S. 139A(5)(6) substituted (5.5.2011) by Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c. 24), ss. 52, 111(1) (with Sch. 6 para. 4(2))

F6 S. 139A(7)(b) repealed (N.I.) (5.5.2011) by Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c. 24), s. 111(1), Sch. 8 Pt. 5

Marginal Citations

M1 1953 c. 14.

M2 1953 c. 14.

M3 S.I. 1987/463 (N.I. 7).