1988 No. 794 (N.I. 5)

The Crossbows (Northern Ireland) Order 1988

27th April 1988

1 Title and commencement¶

1 This Order may be cited as the Crossbows (Northern Ireland) Order 1988.

2 This Order shall come into operation on the expiration of two months from the day on which it is made.

2 Interpretation¶

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954^F1 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

3 Sale and letting on hire¶

A person who sells or lets on hire a crossbow or a part of a crossbow to a person under the age of eighteen^F2 is guilty of an offence, unless he believes him to be eighteen^F2 years of age or older and has reasonable ground for the belief.

4 Purchase and hiring¶

A person under the age of eighteen^F3 who buys or hires a crossbow or a part of a crossbow is guilty of an offence.

5 Possession¶

A person under the age of eighteen^F4 who has with him—

a a crossbow which is capable of discharging a missile, or

b parts of a crossbow, which together (and without any other parts) can be assembled to form a crossbow capable of discharging a missile,

is guilty of an offence, unless he is under the supervision of a person who is twenty‐one years of age or older.

6 Powers of search and seizure etc.¶

1 If a constable suspects with reasonable cause that a person is committing or has committed an offence under Article 5, the constable may—

a search that person for a crossbow or part of a crossbow;

b search any vehicle, or anything in or on a vehicle, in or on which the constable suspects with reasonable cause there is a crossbow, or part of a crossbow, connected with the offence.

2 A constable may detain a person or vehicle for the purpose of a search under paragraph (1).

3 A constable may seize and retain for the purpose of proceedings for an offence under this Order anything discovered by him in the course of a search under paragraph (1) which appears to him to be a crossbow or part of a crossbow.

4 For the purpose of exercising the powers conferred by this Article a constable may enter any land other than a dwelling‐house.

7 Exception¶

This Order does not apply to crossbows with a draw weight of less than 1.4 kilograms.

8 Punishments¶

1 A person guilty of an offence under this Order shall be liable—

a on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;

b on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years, or to a fine, or to both.

^F53 The court by which a person is convicted of an offence under this Order may make such order as it thinks fit as to the forfeiture or disposal of any crossbow or part of a crossbow in respect of which the offence was committed.

Footnotes

F1
1954 c. 33 (NI)
F2
Word in art. 3 substituted (1.10.2007) by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38), ss. 51, 66(2), Sch. 2 para. 12(2)(a); S.I. 2007/2180, art. 4(d)(ii)
F3
Word in art. 4 substituted (1.10.2007) by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38), ss. 51, 66(2), Sch. 2 para. 12(2)(b); S.I. 2007/2180, art. 4(d)(ii)
F4
Word in art. 5 substituted (1.10.2007) by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38), ss. 51, 66(2), Sch. 2 para. 12(2)(c); S.I. 2007/2180, art. 4(d)(ii)
F5
Art. 8(1) substituted (16.7.2008) for art. 8(1)(2) by Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1216 (N.I. 1)), arts. 1(4), 90(2); S.R. 2008/293, art. 2, Sch.