Review: The Sexual Offences Referencer
| Author | Rob Jerrard,Rob R. Jerrard |
| Published date | 01 March 2008 |
| Date | 01 March 2008 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2008.81.1.420 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
ROB R. JERRARD
Reviews Editor
http://www.rjerrard.co.uk
REVIEWS
THE SEXUAL OFFENCES REFERENCER
Eleanor Laws and Patricia Lees
Oxford University Press, 2007
ISBN: 9780199213481; price: £35 pbk
Reviewed by Rob Jerrard
It was held in some quarters that the 1956 Sexual Offences Act
(itself a consolidating Act) failed to reflect the morality and
prevalent sexual practices of the present day. The forward to the
book tells us that as a result the government enacted the Sexual
Offences Act 2003, which came into force on 1 May 2004,
creating many new offences. The old offences still apply to
offences committed before 1 May 2004. Some of those old
offences had been amended or the maximum sentences had been
increased over the years when there were incremental changes.
For many years to come, the courts will have to deal with
offences committed before the new Act came into force and
some defendants will face indictments which actually straddle
the periods of the new and old offences.
This Referencer deals primarily with indictable offences.
Summary offences are not defined, but may appear as alter-
natives. This book takes a good approach because, as it points
out, most sexual offences have historic origins dating back to
Victorian legislation and beyond. However, most but not all
offences were the subject of amendments in 1956 when the
Sexual Offences Act was enacted.
We are told correctly that most readers usually seek informa-
tion on a specific offence for a particular period of time and to
that end the book assists the reader to find precise information
easily and quickly.
If as an example we consider an offence of indecent assault,
the book gives us all we need to know and a valuable insight into
the changes that occurred between 1861 and the present day.
Prior to 1956 the law did not differentiate between the gender of
the person assaulted and any offence would have been contrary
to s. 52, Offences against the Person Act 1861. Since the offence
was punishable by two years’ imprisonment on indictment, it
The Police Journal, Volume 81 (2008) 87
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2008.81.1.420
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