Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973

29 Supplementary provisions as to persistent offenders

(1) For the purposes of section 28(3)(a) of this Act a certificate purporting to be signed by the governor of a prison to the effect—

(a) that a prisoner was finally released from that prison on a date specified in the certificate after serving a sentence so specified ; or

(b) that a prisoner had not been finally released from that prison on a date so specified after serving a sentence so specified;

shall be evidence of the matter so certified.

(2) For the purposes of section 28(3)(b) of this Act a person who has been convicted by a magistrates' court of an indictable offence and sentenced for that offence—

(a) by the Crown Court, or on appeal from the Crown Court, to imprisonment; or

(b) by a court of quarter sessions, or on appeal from such a court, to imprisonment, corrective training or preventive detention;

shall be treated as if he had been convicted of that offence on indictment.

(3) For the purpose of determining whether the conditions specified in section 28(3) of this Act are satisfied in relation to an offender no account shall be taken of any previous conviction or sentence unless notice has been given to the offender at least three days before the later sentence is passed on him that it is intended to prove the previous conviction or sentence to the court.

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3) above a certificate purporting to be signed by a constable or a prison officer that a copy of a notice annexed to the certificate was given to an offender shall be evidence that it was so given and of the contents of the notice.

(5) In this section and in section 28 of this Act " final release" includes a release on licence under section 60 or 61 of the [1967 c. 80.] Criminal Justice Act 1967, but does not include any temporary discharge.

(6) A person sentenced at any time to corrective training or preventive detention in Scotland or Northern Ireland and transferred under section 26 of the [1961 c. 39.] Criminal Justice Act 1961 to England and Wales shall be treated for the purposes of detention, release, recall and otherwise as having been sentenced in England and Wales to a term of imprisonment of the same length as the term of his original sentence and, if he was originally sentenced to preventive detention, he shall also be so treated as if an extended sentence certificate had been issued in respect of him.

(7) A person sentenced to an extended term of imprisonment under section 28 of this Act and transferred under section 26 of the [1961 c. 39.] Criminal Justice Act 1961 to Scotland or Northern Ireland shall, notwithstanding anything in section 26(4) (treatment of prisoners so transferred) be treated as if an extended sentence certificate had not been issued in respect of him.