- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (20/03/2015)
- Original (As enacted)
Version Superseded: 13/04/2015
Point in time view as at 20/03/2015.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Prisoners (Return to Custody) Act 1995.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
An Act to make provision, by the creation of an offence and the conferring of powers of entry, for the punishment and return to lawful custody of persons unlawfully at large.
[28th June 1995]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Commencement Information
I1Act not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 3(2)
(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, a person who has been temporarily released in pursuance of rules made under section 47(5) of the M1Prison Act 1952 (rules for temporary release) is guilty of an offence if—
(a)without reasonable excuse, he remains unlawfully at large at any time after becoming so at large by virtue of the expiry of the period for which he was temporarily released; or
(b)knowing or believing an order recalling him to have been made and while unlawfully at large by virtue of such an order, he fails, without reasonable excuse, to take all necessary steps for complying as soon as reasonably practicable with that order.
F1(1A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2)Subsection (1) above shall not apply in the case of a person temporarily released from a secure training centre [F2 or secure college].
(3)A person guilty of any offence under this section shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.
(4)An offence under this section shall be taken to be committed at the place where the offender was required to be detained immediately before being temporarily released.
(5)A person shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be unlawfully at large whenever he is deemed to be so at large for the purposes of section 49 of the M2Prison Act 1952 (which confers powers of arrest).
(6)This section shall not apply where the period of temporary release expired, or the order of recall was made, before the commencement of this section.
Textual Amendments
F1S. 1(1A) omitted (3.12.2012) by virtue of Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10), s. 151(1), Sch. 10 para. 7; S.I. 2012/2906, art. 2(h)
F2Words in s. 1(2) inserted (20.3.2015) by Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (c. 2), s. 95(1), Sch. 9 para. 11; S.I. 2015/778, art. 2(1)(c)
Marginal Citations
(1)In subsection (1) of section 17 of the M3Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (entry for the purpose of arrest), after paragraph (c) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—
“(ca)of arresting, in pursuance of section 32(1A) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, any child or young person who has been remanded or committed to local authority accommodation under section 23(1) of that Act;
(cb)of recapturing any person who is, or is deemed for any purpose to be, unlawfully at large while liable to be detained—
(i)in a prison, remand centre, young offender institution or secure training centre, or
(ii)in pursuance of section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (dealing with children and young persons guilty of grave crimes), in any other place;”
and in paragraph (d) of that subsection, for “a person” there shall be substituted “ any person whatever ”.
F3(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Textual Amendments
F3S. 2(2) repealed (30.11.2009) by Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (c. 4), s. 153(7), Sch. 28 Pt. 1 (with Sch. 27 para. 15); S.I. 2009/3074, art. 2(p)(u)(v)
Marginal Citations
(1)This Act may be cited as the Prisoners (Return to Custody) Act 1995.
(2)This Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument appoint, and different days may be appointed under this subsection for different purposes.
(3)This Act extends to England and Wales only.
Subordinate Legislation Made
P1S. 3(2) power fully exercised (28.7.1995): 5.9.1995 appointed day by S.I. 1995/2021, art. 2
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: