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Chapter 5 | |
Dangerous offenders | |
204 Meaning of “specified offence” etc. | |
(1) An offence is a “specified offence” for the purposes of this Chapter if it is a | |
specified violent offence or a specified sexual offence. | 5 |
(2) An offence is a “serious offence” for the purposes of this Chapter if and only | |
if— | |
(a) it is a specified offence, and | |
(b) it is, apart from section 205, punishable in the case of a person aged 18 | |
or over by— | 10 |
(i) imprisonment for life, or | |
(ii) imprisonment for a determinate period of ten years or more. | |
(3) In this Chapter— | |
“relevant offence” has the meaning given by section 209(4); | |
“serious harm” means death or serious personal injury, whether physical | 15 |
or psychological; | |
“specified violent offence” means an offence specified in Part 1 of | |
Schedule 11; | |
“specified sexual offence” means an offence specified in Part 2 of that | |
Schedule. | 20 |
205 Life sentence or imprisonment for public protection for serious offences | |
(1) This section applies where— | |
(a) a person aged 18 or over is convicted of a serious offence committed | |
after the commencement of this section, and | |
(b) the court is of the opinion that there is a significant risk to members of | 25 |
the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of | |
further specified offences. | |
(2) If— | |
(a) the offence is one in respect of which the offender would apart from this | |
section be liable to imprisonment for life, and | 30 |
(b) the court considers that the seriousness of the offence, or of the offence | |
and one or more offences associated with it, is such as to justify the | |
imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for life, | |
the court must impose a sentence of imprisonment for life. | |
(3) If, in a case not falling within subsection (2), the court considers that the term | 35 |
of imprisonment which it would pass if it passed a sentence of imprisonment | |
otherwise than under this section would not be adequate for the purpose of | |
protecting the public from serious harm occasioned by the commission by the | |
offender of further specified offences, the court must impose a sentence of | |
imprisonment for public protection. | 40 |
(4) A sentence of imprisonment for public protection is a sentence of | |
imprisonment for an indeterminate period, subject to the provisions of Chapter | |
2 of Part 2 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (c. 43) as to the release of prisoners | |
and duration of licences. | |
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(5) An offence the sentence for which is imposed under this section is not to be | |
regarded as an offence the sentence for which is fixed by law. | |
206 Detention for life or detention for public protection for serious offences | |
committed by those under 18 | |
(1) This section applies where— | 5 |
(a) a person aged under 18 is convicted of a serious offence committed | |
after the commencement of this section, and | |
(b) the court is of the opinion that there is a significant risk to members of | |
the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of | |
further specified offences. | 10 |
(2) If— | |
(a) the offence is one in respect of which the offender would apart from this | |
section be liable to a sentence of detention for life under section 91 of | |
the Sentencing Act, and | |
(b) the court considers that the seriousness of the offence, or of the offence | 15 |
and one or more offences associated with it, is such as to justify the | |
imposition of a sentence of detention for life, | |
the court must impose a sentence of detention for life under that section. | |
(3) If, in a case not falling within subsection (2), the court considers that none of | |
the other ways in which the court may legally deal with him would be | 20 |
adequate for the purpose of protecting the public from serious harm | |
occasioned by the commission by the offender of further specified offences, the | |
court must impose a sentence of detention for public protection. | |
(4) A sentence of detention for public protection is a sentence of detention for an | |
indeterminate period, subject to the provisions of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the | 25 |
Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (c. 43) as to the release of prisoners and duration of | |
licences. | |
(5) An offence the sentence for which is imposed under this section is not to be | |
regarded as an offence the sentence for which is fixed by law. | |
207 Extended sentence for certain violent or sexual offences: persons 18 or over | 30 |
(1) This section applies where— | |
(a) a person aged 18 or over is convicted of a specified offence, other than | |
a serious offence, committed after the commencement of this section, | |
and | |
(b) the court considers— | 35 |
(i) that there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious | |
harm occasioned by the commission by the offender of further | |
specified offences, and | |
(ii) that the term of imprisonment which it would pass if it passed | |
a sentence of imprisonment otherwise than under this section | 40 |
would not be adequate for the purpose of protecting the public | |
from serious harm occasioned by the commission by the | |
offender of further specified offences. | |
(2) The court must impose on the offender an extended sentence of imprisonment, | |
that is to say, a sentence of imprisonment the term of which is equal to the | 45 |
aggregate of— | |
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(a) the appropriate custodial term, and | |
(b) a further period (“the extension period”) for which the offender is to be | |
subject to a licence and which is of such length as the court considers | |
necessary for the purpose of protecting members of the public from | |
serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of further specified | 5 |
offences. | |
(3) In subsection (2) “the appropriate custodial term” means a term of | |
imprisonment (not exceeding the maximum term permitted for the offence) | |
which— | |
(a) is the term that would (apart from this section) be imposed in | 10 |
compliance with section 136(2), or | |
(b) where the term that would be so imposed is a term of less than 12 | |
months, is a term of 12 months. | |
(4) The extension period must not exceed— | |
(a) five years in the case of a specified violent offence, and | 15 |
(b) nine years in the case of a specified sexual offence. | |
(5) The term of an extended sentence of imprisonment passed under this section | |
in respect of an offence must not exceed the maximum term permitted for the | |
offence. | |
208 Extended sentence for certain violent or sexual offences: persons under 18 | 20 |
(1) This section applies where— | |
(a) a person aged under 18 is convicted of a specified offence, other than a | |
serious offence, committed after the commencement of this section, and | |
(b) the court considers— | |
(i) that there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious | 25 |
harm occasioned by the commission by the offender of further | |
specified offences, and | |
(ii) that none of the other ways in which the court may legally deal | |
with him would be adequate for the purpose of protecting the | |
public from serious harm occasioned by the commission by the | 30 |
offender of further specified offences. | |
(2) The court must impose on the offender an extended sentence of detention, that | |
is to say, a sentence of detention the term of which is equal to the aggregate | |
of— | |
(a) the appropriate custodial term, and | 35 |
(b) a further period (“the extension period”) for which the offender is to be | |
subject to a licence and which is of such length as the court considers | |
necessary for the purpose of protecting members of the public from | |
serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of further specified | |
offences. | 40 |
(3) In subsection (2) “the appropriate custodial term” means such term as the court | |
consider appropriate, which— | |
(a) must be at least 12 months, and | |
(b) must not exceed 24 months or, if less, the maximum term of | |
imprisonment permitted for the offence in the case of a person aged 18 | 45 |
or over. | |
(4) The extension period must not exceed— | |
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(a) five years in the case of a specified violent offence, and | |
(b) nine years in the case of a specified sexual offence. | |
(5) The term of an extended sentence of detention passed under this section in | |
respect of an offence must not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment | |
permitted for the offence in the case of a person aged 18 or over. | 5 |
209 The assessment of dangerousness | |
(1) This section applies where— | |
(a) a person has been convicted of a specified offence, and | |
(b) it falls to a court to assess under any of sections 205 to 208 whether there | |
is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned | 10 |
by the commission by him of further such offences. | |
(2) If at the time when that offence was committed the offender had not been | |
convicted in any part of the United Kingdom of any relevant offence or was | |
aged under 18, the court in making the assessment referred to in subsection | |
(1)(b)— | 15 |
(a) must take into account all such information as is available to it about | |
the nature and circumstances of the offence, | |
(b) may take into account any information which is before it about any | |
pattern of behaviour of which the offence forms part, and | |
(c) may take into account any information about the offender which is | 20 |
before it. | |
(3) If at the time when that offence was committed the offender was aged 18 or | |
over and had been convicted in any part of the United Kingdom of one or more | |
relevant offences, the court must assume that there is such a risk as is | |
mentioned in subsection (1)(b) unless, after taking into account— | 25 |
(a) all such information as is available to it about the nature and | |
circumstances of each of the offences, | |
(b) where appropriate, any information which is before it about any | |
pattern of behaviour of which any of the offences forms part, and | |
(c) any information about the offender which is before it, | 30 |
the court considers that it would be unreasonable to conclude that there is such | |
a risk. | |
(4) In this Chapter “relevant offence” means— | |
(a) an offence committed in England and Wales that is a specified offence, | |
(b) an offence committed in Scotland that is specified in Schedule 12, | 35 |
(c) an offence committed in Northern Ireland that is specified in Schedule | |
13, or | |
(d) an offence that— | |
(i) is specified in Schedule 11, 12 or 13, and | |
(ii) is constituted by an act or omission outside the United | 40 |
Kingdom. | |
210 Imprisonment or detention for public protection: release on licence | |
Schedule 14 (release of prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment or | |
detention for public protection) shall have effect. | |
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