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 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
1954 c. 33 (NI)

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 is guilty of an offence, unless he believes him to be eighteen years of age or older and has reasonable ground for the belief.
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)

4 Purchase and hiring
A person under the age of eighteen who buys or hires a crossbow or a part of a crossbow is guilty of an offence.
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)

5 Possession
A person under the age of eighteen 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.
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)

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.
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.
3 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.