Probation of Offenders Act, 1907

• Permanent Page URL

PROBATION OF OFFENDERS ACT 1907

CHAPTER XVII.

An Act to permit the Release on Probation of Offenders in certain cases, and for other matters incidental thereto. [21st August 1907.]

Be it enacted by the King’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:

Power of courts to permit conditional release of offenders.

1 Edw. 7. c. 20

1.—(1) Where any person is charged before a court of summary jurisdiction with an offence punishable by such court, and the court thinks that the charge is proved, but is of opinion that, having regard to the character, antecedents, age, health, or mental condition of the person charged, or to the trivial nature of the offence, or to the extenuating circumstances under which the offence was committed, it is inexpedient to inflict any punishment or any other than a nominal punishment, or that it is expedient to release the offender on probation, the court may, without proceeding to conviction, make an order either—

(i) dismissing the information or charge; or

(ii) discharging the offender conditionally on his entering into a recognizance, with or without sureties, to be of good behaviour and to appear for conviction and sentence when called on at any time during such period, not exceeding three years, as may be specified in the order.

(2) Where any person has been convicted on indictment of any offence punishable with imprisonment, and the court is of opinion that, having regard to the character, antecedents, age, health, or mental condition of the person charged, or to the trivial nature of the offence, or to the extenuating circumstances under which the offence was committed, it is inexpedient to inflict any punishment or any other than a nominal punishment, or that it is expedient to release the offender on probation, the court may, in lieu of imposing a sentence of imprisonment, make an order discharging the offender conditionally on his entering into a recognizance, with or without sureties, to be of good behaviour and to appear for sentence when called on at any time during such period, not exceeding three years, as may be specified in the order.

(3) The court may, in addition to any such order, order the offender to pay such damages for injury or compensation for loss (not exceeding in the case of a court of summary jurisdiction ten pounds, or, if a higher limit is fixed by any enactment relating to the offence, that higher limit) and to pay such costs of the proceedings as the court thinks reasonable, and, if the offender is under the age of sixteen years, and it appears to the court that the parent or guardian of the offender has conduced to the commission of the offence, the court may under and in accordance with the Youthful Offenders Act, 1901, order payment of such damages and costs by such parent or guardian.

(4) Where an order under this section is made by a court of summary jurisdiction, the order shall, for the purpose of revesting or restoring stolen property, and of enabling the court to make orders as to the restitution or delivery of property to the owner and as to the payment of money upon or in connexion with such restitution or delivery, have the like effect as a conviction.

Probation orders and conditions of recognizances.

2.—(1) A recognizance ordered to be entered into under this Act shall, if the court so order, contain a condition that the offender be under the supervision of such person as may be named in the order during the period specified in the order and such other conditions for securing such supervision as may be specified in the order, and an order requiring the insertion of such conditions as aforesaid in the recognizance is in this Act referred to as a probation order.

(2) A recognizance under this Act may contain such additional conditions as the court may, having regard to the particular circumstances of the case, order to be inserted therein with respect to all or any of the following matters:—

(a) for prohibiting the offender from associating with thieves and other undesirable persons, or from frequenting undesirable places;

(b) as to abstention from intoxicating liquor, where the offence was drunkenness or an offence committed under the influence of drink;

(c) generally for securing that the offender should lead an honest and industrious life.

(3) The court by which a probation order is made shall furnish to the offender a notice in writing stating in simple terms the conditions he is required to observe.

Probation officers.

3.—(1) There may be appointed as probation officer or officers for a petty sessional division such person or persons of either sex as the authority having power to appoint a clerk to the justices of that division may determine, and a probation officer when acting under a probation order shall be subject to the control of petty sessional courts for the division for which he is so appointed.

(2) There shall be appointed, where circumstances permit, special probation officers, to be called children’s probation officers, who shall, in the absence of any reasons to the contrary, be named in a probation order made in the case of an offender under the age of sixteen.

(3) The person named in any probation order shall,—

(a) where the court making the order is a court of summary jurisdiction, be selected from amongst the probation officers for the petty sessional division in or for which the court acts; or

(b) where the court making the order is a court of assize or a court of quarter sessions, be selected from amongst the probation officers for the petty sessional division from which the person charged was committed for trial:

Provided that the person so named may, if the court considers it expedient on account of the place of residence of the offender, or for any other special reason, be a probation officer for some other petty sessional division, and may, if the court considers that the special circumstances of the case render it desirable, be a person who has not been appointed to be probation officer for any petty sessional division.

(4) A probation officer appointed for a petty sessional division may be paid such salary as the authority having the control of the fund out of which the salary of the clerk to the justices of that petty sessional division is paid may determine, and if not so paid by salary may receive such remuneration for acting under a probation order as the court making the order thinks fit, not exceeding such remuneration as may be allowed by the regulations of such authority as aforesaid, and may in either case be paid such out-of-pocket expenses as may be allowed under such regulations as aforesaid, and the salary or remuneration and expenses shall be paid by that authority out of the said funds.

(5) A person named in a probation order not being a probation officer for a petty sessional division may be paid such remuneration and out-of-pocket expenses out of such fund as the court making the probation order may direct, not exceeding such as may be allowed under the regulations of the authority having control of the fund out of which the remuneration is directed to be paid.

(6) The person named in a probation order may at any time be relieved of his duties, and, in any such case or in case of the death of the person so named, another person may be substituted by the court before which the offender is bound by his recognizance to appear for conviction or sentence, or, if he be a probation officer for a petty sessional division, by a court to whose control that officer is subject.

(7) In the application of this Act to the City of London and the metropolitan police court district, the city and each division of that district shall be deemed to be a petty sessional division.

Duties of probation officers.

4. It shall be the duty of a probation officer, subject to the directions of the court—

(a) to visit or receive reports from the person under supervision at such reasonable intervals as may be specified in the probation order or, subject thereto, as the probation officer may think fit;

(b) to see that he observes the conditions of his recognizance;

(c) to report to the court as to his behaviour;

(d) to advise, assist, and befriend him, and, when necessary, to endeavour to find him suitable employment.

Power to vary conditions of release.

5. The court before which any person is bound by his recognizance under this Act to appear for conviction or sentence may, upon the application of the probation officer, and after notice to the offender, vary the conditions of the recognizance and may, on being satisfied that the conduct of that person has been such as to make it unnecessary that he should remain longer under supervision, discharge the recognizance.

Provision in case of offender failing to observe conditions of release.

29 & 30 Vict. c. 118.

6.—(1) If the court before which an offender is bound by his recognizance under this Act to appear for conviction or sentence, or any court of summary jurisdiction, is satisfied by information on oath that the offender has failed to observe any of the conditions of his recognizance, it may issue a warrant for his apprehension, or may, if it thinks fit, instead of issuing a warrant in the first instance, issue a summons to the offender and his sureties (if any) requiring him or them to attend at such court and at such time as may be specified in the summons.

(2) The offender, when apprehended, shall, if not brought forthwith before the court before which he is bound by his recognizance to appear for conviction or sentence, be brought before a court of summary jurisdiction.

(3) The court before which an offender on apprehension is brought, or before which he appears in pursuance of such summons as aforesaid, may, if it is not the court before which he is bound by his recognizance to appear for conviction or sentence, remand him to custody or on bail until he can be brought before the last-mentioned court.

(4) An offender so remanded to custody may be committed during remand to any prison to which the court having power to convict or sentence him has power to commit prisoners. In the case of a child or young person under the age of sixteen, he shall, if remanded, be dealt with wherever practicable in accordance with the provisions of section four, subsection one, of the Youthful Offenders Act, 1901.

(5) A court before which a person is bound by his recognizance to appear for conviction and sentence, on being satisfied that he has failed to observe any condition of his recognizance, may forthwith, without further proof of his guilt, convict and sentence him for the original offence or, if the case was one in which the court in the first instance might, under section fifteen of the Industrial Schools Act, 1866, have ordered the offender to be sent to a certified industrial school, and the offender is still apparently under the age of twelve years, make such an order.

Power to make rules.

7. The Secretary of State may make rules for carrying this Act into effect, and in particular for prescribing such matters incidental to the appointment, resignation, and removal of probation officers, and the performance of their duties, and the reports to be made by them, as may appear necessary.

Application to Scotland.

8. This Act shall apply to Scotland, subject to the following modifications:—

(1) There may be appointed as probation officers for a district being a royal, parliamentary, or police burgh, or a county outwith the police boundaries of any such burgh, such persons as the burgh magistrates may determine for the burgh and the sheriff for the county; and a probation officer when acting under a probation order shall be subject to the control of the burgh police court or sheriff court, as the case may be:

(2) The immediately preceding subsection shall be substituted for subsection one of section three of this Act, and references in this Act to a petty sessional division shall be construed as references to a district:

(3) The expression “court of summary jurisdiction” where occurring in section three of this Act shall include the sheriff sitting with a jury:

(4) “Bond” shall be substituted for “recognizance,” the “Secretary for Scotland” shall be substituted for “the Secretary of State,” and “the High Court of Justiciary” shall be substituted for “a court of assize or a court of quarter sessions”:

(5) The authority having power to regulate the remuneration of probation officers shall be the town council in a burgh and the county council in a county, and such remuneration shall be paid out of the burgh general or police assessment or the county general assessment, as the case may be.

Application to Ireland.

9. In the application of this Act to Ireland “Lord Lieutenant” shall be substituted for “Secretary of State,” and each division of the police district of Dublin metropolis shall be deemed to be a petty sessional division.

Short title and repeal.

10.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907.

(2) The enactments mentioned in the schedule to this Act shall be repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that schedule.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on the first day of January one thousand nine hundred and eight.

SCHEDULE.

Enactments Repealed.

Section 10 .