Criminal Justice Act 1925
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1925 c. 86 |
Criminal Justice Act, 1925.
(15 & 16 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 86.
An Act to amend the law with respect to the administration of criminal justice in England, and otherwise to amend the criminal law.
[22nd December 1925]
B e 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:—
Part I.
Probation of Offenders.
1 Probation officers.
(1) For the purposes of the principal Act, one or more probation officers shall be appointed for every probation area, and it shall be the duty of probation officers to undertake the supervision of persons in respect of whom supervision is required by a probation order, whether made by a court of summary jurisdiction or by a court of assize or a court of quarter sessions.
(2) The probation committee of a probation area may pay such sums by way of salary or remuneration to the probation officers appointed for the area and to any persons, not being probation officers, named in probation orders made by any court of summary jurisdiction sitting within the area or by any court of assize or quarter sessions in respect of persons who have been committed for trial by examining justices sitting within the area, and such sums on account of expenses incurred by those officers and persons in the performance of their duties, as, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act with respect to scales of salaries, remuneration and expenses, may be agreed upon between the committee and the local authority liable to make the payment, or, failing agreement, may be determined by the Secretary of State.
(3) The Secretary of State shall have power by scheme to make such arrangements as he thinks fit with a view to the provision of superannuation allowances or gratuities for probation officers or their legal personal representatives:
Provided that the Secretary of State, before making any such scheme, shall cause notice thereof to be given in such manner as he thinks fit to any local authorities who may be affected thereby, and shall take into consideration any representations with respect thereto which may be submitted to him by any such authority.
2 Probation areas and committees.
(1) Subject as hereinafter provided, every petty sessional division shall be a probation area for the purposes of the principal Act:
Provided that the Secretary of State may, if he thinks it desirable so to do with a view to securing the more effective operation of the law relating to the probation of offenders, by order direct that two or more petty sessional divisions shall be combined to form a probation area.
(2) There shall be a probation committee for every petty sessional division, whether a probation area or not, and for every combined area.
(3) The probation committee shall consist, in the case of a petty sessional division, of three or more justices appointed in the prescribed manner by the justices acting in and for that division, and, in the case of a combined area, of such number of justices, to be appointed in the prescribed manner and representing respectively the justices for the several petty sessional divisions comprised in the combined area and any court of quarter sessions in whose district any part of the combined area is situate, as may be provided by the order constituting the combined area.
(4) A court of quarter sessions for a county may submit to the Secretary of State schemes with respect to the constitution of combined areas and of probation committees for such areas, and the Secretary of State shall take into consideration any such schemes which may be submitted to him and shall, before making an order constituting a combined area, give to the justices acting in and for any petty sessional division affected by the order an opportunity of making to him any representations which they may desire to make with respect to the order.
(5) Subject as hereinafter provided, it shall be the duty of the probation committee of a probation area to—
( a ) appoint probation officers for the probation area;
( b ) pay the salaries and other sums payable to probation officers and persons named in probation orders and any superannuation allowances or gratuities payable under this Part of this Act;
( c ) supervise the work and receive the reports of such officers and persons; and
( d ) perform such other duties in connection with the probation of offenders as may be prescribed or as the Secretary of State may by order direct:
Provided that—
(i) in the case of a probation area which is not a combined area the appointment of probation officers for the area shall be made by the justices acting in and for the petty sessional division and not by the probation committee, unless the justices by resolution delegate to the committee the power of appointing probation officers; and
(ii) in the case of a combined area, the duty of supervising the work and receiving the reports of probation officers and persons named in probation orders shall be performed by the probation committees of the several petty sessional divisions comprised in the area instead of by the probation committee for the area.
(6) Where a stipendiary magistrate is appointed, or other special court of summary jurisdiction is constituted, for an area not being a petty sessional division, the Secretary of State may by order apply this Part of this Act to that area subject to such adaptations as he may consider necessary or expedient, and the order may contain such supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions as may appear to him necessary or proper for the purposes of the order.
3 Selection of probation officers.
(1) The person to act as probation officer shall, in a case where the probation order is made by a court of summary jurisdiction, be selected from among the probation officers for the probation area for or within which that court exercises jurisdiction, and, where the probation order is made by a court of assize or a court of quarter sessions, be selected from among the probation officers appointed for the probation area for or within which the examining justices by whom the offender was committed for trial act:
Provided that—
( a ) if the court making the order thinks it desirable so to do, having regard to the place of residence of the offender or any other special reason, the court may appoint a probation officer for any other probation area to act under the order; and
( b ) the court making the order may, in any special case in which it appears desirable so to do, appoint a person not being a probation officer to undertake supervision in respect of that case.
(2) Where the circumstances permit, the court shall appoint a probation officer who is a woman to supervise an offender who is a woman and an officer experienced in dealing with children or young persons to supervise an offender who is under the age of sixteen years.
(3) Where the probation officer or other person named in a probation order has died or is unable for any reason to carry out his duties, or where the court before which the offender is bound by his recognizance to appear for conviction or sentence for any reason considers it desirable that another person should be appointed in the place of that officer or person, the court shall appoint another probation officer or person to undertake supervision in respect of the case.
4 Employment of agents of voluntary societies as probation officers.
(1) It shall be lawful to appoint as a probation officer for any area, or to name in a probation order as the person to undertake supervision in any special case, a person who is the agent of a voluntary society, and any sums payable by way of salary, remuneration, or otherwise under this Act to such an agent may be paid to the society.
(2) In this section the expression ‘voluntary society’ means a society carrying on mission work in connection with police courts or other work in connection with the supervision and care of offenders.
5 Salaries and expenses.
(1) The sums required to meet any expenses incurred by a probation committee in respect of the salaries, remuneration and expenses of probation officers and of persons, not being probation officers, named in probation orders, and in respect of superannuation allowances or gratuities to probation officers and any other expenses of a probation committee which may be incurred in accordance with rules made by the Secretary of State, shall be defrayed, in accordance with rules so made, by the local authority in whose area the probation area is situate:
Provided that, where a probation area is situate in the area of two or more local authorities, the sums to be defrayed as aforesaid by the local authority shall be apportioned between the several authorities in such manner as may be agreed upon between them, or, in default of agreement, as may be determined by the Secretary of State.
(2) It shall be lawful for a local authority to contribute towards the expense of maintaining persons who have been released on probation under a condition as to residence.
(3) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament, towards the expenditure of local authorities under this Part of this Act and...
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