Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953

N.I. Miscellaneous

38 F1 Arrest, etc., of persons unlawfully at large. N.I.

(1 )F2 A constable or a prison officer may arrest without warrant any person—

(a) whom he reasonably suspects of having committed, or attempted to commit, any offence against this Act; or

(b) whom he reasonably suspects of being unlawfully at large;

and convey him before a justice of the peace to be dealt with according to law, or take him to the place in which he is required by law to be detained.

(2 )F3 Where any person sentenced to imprisonment, …F4 [F5 or ordered to be detained in a young offenders centre] is unlawfully at large at any time during the period for which he is liable to be detained in pursuance of the sentence, then, unless the Minister otherwise directs, no account shall be taken, in calculating the period for which he is liable to be so detained, of the time during which he is absent from prison.

(3) The provisions of the last foregoing sub-section shall not apply to any period during which any such person is detained in pursuance of any other sentence of any court [F6 in the United Kingdom] in a prison or other institution, but shall apply in addition to any other provisions of this Act imposing any punishment for an escape.

(4) The provisions of the last foregoing sub-section shall apply to a person who is detained in custody in default of payment of any sum of money as if he were sentenced to imprisonment.

(5) For the purposes of this section a person who, after being temporarily released in pursuance of prison rules, is at large at any time during the period for which he is liable to be detained in pursuance of his sentence, shall be deemed to be unlawfully at large if the period for which he was temporarily released has expired or if an order recalling him has been made by the Minister in pursuance of the rules.

F1 1957 c. 53

F2 1961 c. 39

F3 1961 c. 15 (NI); 1967 c. 80

F4 1968 c. 29 (NI); 1980 NI 10

F5 1968 c. 29 (NI)

F6 1961 c. 39

39 F7 Notification of an inquiry into death of prisoner. N.I.

(1) In the event of the death of a prisoner, the governor of a prison shall give immediate notice thereof to the coroner within whose area the prison is situated, and to the[F8 independent monitoring board], and, where practicable, to the nearest relative of the prisoner.

(2) The coroner shall hold an inquest into the cause of death of any prisoner in a prison within his area, and, where practicable, sufficient time between the death and the holding of the inquest shall intervene to allow the attendance of the next-of-kin of the prisoner.

(3) No prison officer nor any person who is engaged in any sort of trade or dealing with a prison shall be a juror on such inquest.

F7 1955 c. 18; 1955 c. 19; 1959 c. 15 (NI)

F8 2005 NI 15

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 39(3) applied (28.3.2009 for certain purposes, otherwise 31.10.2009) by Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959 (c. 15), s. 18(4) (as added by Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52), ss. 378(1), 383(2), Sch. 16 para. 44 (with s. 385); S.I. 2009/812, art. 3(a)(b) (with transitional provisions in S.I. 2009/1059); S.I. 2009/1167, art. 4)

S. 40 rep. by 2004 NI 5

[F9 41 Re-settlement etc., of persons convicted of offences. N.I.

(1) The Secretary of State may make and give effect to such schemes as he may think expedient for the supervision or assistance of persons serving a sentence of imprisonment or detained in a young offenders centre with a view to their resettlement and rehabilitation.

(2) The Secretary of State may make grants towards the expenditure of any society which is engaged in assisting persons convicted of offences with a view to their resettlement and rehabilitation.]

F9 1982 NI 10