Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 (repealed)

43 Power to deprive offender of property used, or intended for use, for purposes of crime. E+W

[F1 (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, where a person is convicted of an offence and—

(a) the court by or before which he is convicted is satisfied that any property which has been lawfully seized from him or which was in his possession or under his control at the time when he was apprehended for the offence or when a summons in respect of it was issued—

(i) has been used for the purpose of committing, or facilitating the commission of, any offence; or

(ii) was intended by him to be used for that purpose; or

(b) the offence, or an offence which the court has taken into consideration in determining his sentence, consists of unlawful possession of property which—

(i) has been lawfully seized from him; or

(ii) was in his possession or under his control at the time when he was apprehended for the offence of which he has been convicted or when a summons in respect of that offence was issued,

the court may make an order under this section in respect of that property, and may do so whether or not it also deals with the offender in respect of the offence in any other way and without regard to any restrictions on forfeiture in an enactment contained in an Act passed before the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

(1A) In considering whether to make such an order in respect of any property a court shall have regard—

(a) to the value of the property; and

(b) to the likely financial and other effects on the offender of the making of the order (taken together with any other order that the court contemplates making).]

[F2 (1B) Where a person commits an offence to which this subsection applies by—

(a) driving, attempting to drive, or being in charge of a vehicle, or

(b) failing to comply with a requirement made under section 7 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (failure to provide specimen for analysis or laboratory test) in the course of an investigation into whether the offender had committed an offence while driving, attempting to drive or being in charge of a vehicle, or

(c) failing, as the driver of a vehicle, to comply with subsection (2) or (3) of section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (duty to stop and give information or report accident),

the vehicle shall be regarded for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) above (and subsection (4)(b) below) as used for the purpose of committing the offence (and for the purpose of committing any offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of the offence).

(1C) Subsection (1B) above applies to—

(a) an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 which is punishable with imprisonment,

(b) an offence of manslaughter, and

(c) an offence under section 35 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (wanton and furious driving).]

(2) Facilitating the commission of an offence shall be taken for the purposes of this section and section 44 of this Act to include the taking of any steps after it has been committed for the purpose of disposing of any property to which it relates or of avoiding apprehension or detection, and references in this or that section to an offence punishable with imprisonment shall be construed without regard to any prohibition or restriction imposed by or under any enactment on the imprisonment of young offenders.

(3) An order under this section shall operate to deprive the offender of his rights, if any, in the property to which it relates, and the property shall (if not already in their possession) be taken into the possession of the police.

(4) The M1 Police (Property) Act 1897 shall apply, with the following modifications, to property which is in the possession of the police by virtue of this section—

(a) no application shall be made under section 1(1) of that Act by any claimant of the property after the expiration of six months from the date on which the order in respect of the property was made under this section; and

(b) no such application shall succeed unless the claimant satisfies the court either that he had not consented to the offender having possession of the property [F3 or, where an order is made under subsection (1)(a) above, that he did not know, and had no reason to suspect, that the property was likely to be used for the purpose mentioned in that paragraph].

(5) In relation to property which is in the possession of the police by virtue of this section, the power to make regulations under section 2(1) of the M2 Police (Property) Act 1897 (disposal of property in cases where the owner of the property has not been ascertained and no order of a competent court has been made with respect thereto) shall include power to make regulations for disposal in cases where no application by a claimant of the property has been made within the period specified in subsection (4)(a) above or no such application has succeeded.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 43(1)(1A) substituted for s. 43(1) by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), s. 69(1), Sch. 8 para. 16

F2 S. 43(1B)(1C) inserted (1.7.1992) by Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40, SIF 107:1), s.36; S.I. 1992/1286, art. 2, Sch.

F3 Words substituted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), s. 170, Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 15 para. 41

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 43 excluded by Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12, SIF 96), s. 75, Sch. 3 para. 3(a)

C2 S. 43 restricted by Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 (c. 32, SIF 39:1), s. 1(5)

C3 S. 43 restricted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), s. 5(c)(ii), Sch. 8 para. 16

C4 S. 43 extended by Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (c. 35, SIF 7:1), s. 7(1)

C5 S. 43 restricted (prosp.) by 1986 c. 32, s. 4B (as inserted (prosp.) by 1993 c. 36 ss. 14(1), 78(4)).

S. 43 restricted (3.2.1995) by 1994 c. 37, ss. 2(5)(b)(iii), 20(1)(a)(iii), 69(2) (with s. 66(2)).

Marginal Citations

M1 1897 c. 30.

M2 1897 c. 30.