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	Statutes of Northern Ireland
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PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT 1871

PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT 1871 - LONG TITLE

An Act for the more effectual Prevention of Crime.
[21st August 1871]
Preamble rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2)

Short title.

PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT 1871 - SECT 1

1. This Act may be cited as "The Prevention of Crimes Act, 1871."

Ss.25 rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2); 1953 c.18 (NI) s.48 sch.5

Register of criminals.

PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT 1871 - SECT 6

6. The following enactments shall be made with a view to facilitate
the identification of criminals:

(1)Registers of all persons convicted of crime in the United Kingdom
shall be kept in such form and containing such particulars as may
from time to time be prescribed, in Great Britain by one of Her
Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, and in Ireland by the Lord
Lieutenant:

(4)The register for Ireland shall be kept ... under the management
of ... such ... person as the Lord Lieutenant may from time to
time appoint:

Para.(5) rep. by SLR (NI) 1954; paras.(6)(9)(11) rep. by SLR 1893
(No.2); 1953 c.18 (NI) s.48 sch.5

<(12)Any expenses incurred in pursuance of this section shall be defrayed as follows; (that is to say,)

The expense of keeping the register ... shall [be paid out of
money provided by the Parliament of the United Kingdom]:

....

This section shall not apply to the prisons for convicts under the
superintendence of the directors of convict prisons or to any
military or naval prison.

Ss.713 rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2); 1876 c.20 s.5; 1953 c.14 (NI)
ss.1(2), 29 sch.3; 1967 c.18 (NI) s.15(2) sch.2 Pt.I; 1968 c.28
(NI) ss.14, 16 schs.3, 4. S.14 rep. by 1908 c.67 s.134(3) sch.3

Evidence of vagrancy.

PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT 1871 - SECT 15

15. Whereas by the fourth section of the Vagrancy Act, 1824, it
is, amongst other things, provided that every suspected person or
reputed thief frequenting any river, canal, or navigable stream,
dock, or basin, or any quay, wharf, or warehouse near or adjoining
thereto, or any street, highway, or avenue leading thereto, or any
place of public resort, or any avenue leading thereto, or any
stret, highway, or place adjacent, with intent to commit [an
arrestable offence], shall be deemed a rogue and vagabond, and may
be apprehended and committed to prison ... for any time not
exceeding three calendar months: ... in proving the intent to commit
[an arrestable offence] it shall not be necessary to show that the
person suspected was guilty of any particular act or acts tending
to show his purpose or intent, and he may be convicted if from
the circumstances of the case, and from his known character as
proved to the justice of the peace or court before whom or which
he is brought, it appears to such justice or court that his intent
was to commit [an arrestable offence]; and the provisions of the
said section, as amended by this section, shall be in force in ...
Ireland....

S.16 rep. by 1916 c.50 s.48(1) sch.

S.17 rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2); 1953 c.18 (NI) s.48 sch.5; 1962 c.30
s.30(2)(d) sch.4 Pt.IV; 1968 c.28 (NI) s.16 sch.4

PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT 1871 - SECT 18
Evidence of previous conviction.

18. A previous conviction may be proved in any legal proceeding
whatever against any person by producing a record or extract of
such conviction, and by giving proof of the identity of the person
against whom the conviction is sought to be proved with the person
appearing in the record or extract of conviction to have been
convicted.

A record or extract of a conviction shall in the case of an
indictable offence consist of a certificate containing the substance
and effect only (omitting the formal part of the indictment and
conviction), and purporting to be signed by the clerk of the court
or other officer having the custody of the records of the court by
which such conviction was made, or purporting to be signed by the
deputy of such clerk or officer; and in the case of a summary
conviction shall consist of a copy of such conviction purporting to
be signed by any justice of the peace having jurisdiction over the
offence in respect of which such conviction was made, or to be
signed by the proper officer of the court by which such conviction
was made, or by the clerk or other officer of any court to which
such conviction has been returned.

A record or extract of any conviction made in pursuance of this
section shall be admissible in evidence without proof of the
signature or official character of the person appearing to have
signed the same.

A previous conviction in any one part of the United Kingdom may be
proved against a prisoner in any other part of the United Kingdom;
and a conviction before the passing of this Act shall be admissible
in the same manner as if it had taken place after the passing
thereof.

A fee not exceeding [25p] may be charged for a record of a
conviction given in pursuance of this section.

The mode of proving a previous conviction authorized by this section
shall be in addition to and not in exclusion of any other
authorized mode of proving such conviction.

S.19 rep. by 1916 c.50 s.48(1) sch.

Interpretation.

PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT 1871 - SECT 20

20. Definition rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2)

["crime" means any felony committed before the commencement of the
Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or any arrestable offence
or the offence of uttering false or counterfeit coin;]

The expression "offence" means [(except when used in the definition
of "crime")] any act or omission which is not a crime as defined
by this Act, and is punishable on indictment or summary conviction.

Definitions rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2); 1968 c.28 (NI) s.16 sch.4

S.21 rep. by SLR 1883. S.22 rep. by 1967 c.18 (NI) s.15(2) sch.2
Pt.I

Schedule rep. by 1968 c.28 (NI) s.16 sch.4