PART 6Miscellaneous and general

Miscellaneous

79Throwing articles into prisons

After section 40CA of the Prison Act 1952 (inserted by section 78 above) insert—

40CBThrowing articles into prison

1

A person who, without authorisation, throws any article or substance into a prison is guilty of an offence.

2

For the purposes of subsection (1)—

a

the reference to an article or substance does not include a reference to a List A article, a List B article or a List C article (as defined by section 40A);

b

the reference to “throwing” an article or substance into a prison includes a reference to doing anything from outside the prison that results in the article or substance being projected or conveyed over or through a boundary of the prison so as to land inside the prison.

3

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

a

he reasonably believed that he had authorisation to do the act in respect of which the proceedings are brought, or

b

in all the circumstances there was an overriding public interest which justified the doing of that act.

4

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

a

on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine (or both);

b

on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine (or both).

5

In this section “authorisation” means authorisation given for the purposes of this section; and subsections (1) to (3) of section 40E apply in relation to authorisations so given as they apply to authorisations given for the purposes of section 40D.