Section 69: Sex offender orders made in Scotland or Northern Ireland
371.This section introduces a new section 2B to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. It makes breach of a sex offender order or interim order made in Scotland (under section 20(4) of the Crime and Disorder Act) or Northern Ireland (under Article 6 or 6A of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1998) an offence in England and Wales if the breach occurs in England or Wales. The effect of this section, when taken together with that of sections 71 and 74, is to make a sex offender order enforceable across the UK, whichever jurisdiction it was made in.
372.New section 2B(2) provides that if a person does anything which he is prohibited to do by an order, he is liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a maximum of six months, or to the maximum statutory fine (currently £5000) or to both. If convicted on indictment, he is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine, or to both. This is the same as for the breach of an order made by a court in English or Welsh.
373.New section 2B(3) prevents the court from giving a person a conditional discharge for the breach in England or Wales of a sex offender order, or interim order, made by a court in Scottish or Northern Ireland.