Section 139A Offence of having article with blade or point (or offensive weapon) on education premises.F11F12E1C1
England and Wales
Any person who has an article to which section 139 of this Act applies with him on school premises F1or further education premises shall be guilty of an offence.
It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article or weapon with him on the premises in question.
Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3) above, it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above to prove that he had the article or weapon in question with him—
for use at work,
for educational purposes,
for religious reasons, or
as part of any national costume.
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable—
on summary conviction in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding F4the general limit in a magistrates’ court or to a fine, or to both;
on summary conviction in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years or to a fine, or to both.
In relation to an offence committed before the coming into force of section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (maximum sentence that may be imposed on summary conviction of offence triable either way) the reference in subsection (5)(a) to F5the general limit in a magistrates’ court is to be read as a reference to 6 months.
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See section 315 of the Sentencing Code for provision about the sentence which a court in England and Wales may be required to impose where a person aged 16 or over who has a previous relevant conviction (within the meaning of that section) is convicted of an offence under this section.
In this section and section 139B “school premises” means land used for the purposes of a school, excluding any land occupied solely as a dwelling by a person employed at the school; and “school” has the meaning given by—
in relation to land in England and Wales, section 4 of the Education Act 1996;
in relation to land in Northern Ireland, Article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (SI 1986/594 (NI 3)).
In this section and section 139B “further education premises” means—
in relation to England and Wales, land used solely for the purposes of—
an institution within the further education sector (within the meaning of section 91 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992), or
a 16 to 19 Academy (within the meaning of section 1B of the Academies Act 2010),
excluding any land occupied solely as a dwelling by a person employed at the institution or the 16 to 19 Academy;
in relation to Northern Ireland, land used solely for the purposes of an institution of further education within the meaning of Article 2 of the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (SI 1997/1772 (NI 15)) excluding any land occupied solely as a dwelling by a person employed at the institution.
In the application of this section to Northern Ireland—
Annotations
Textual amendments
- F1
Words in s. 139A(1) inserted (6.4.2022 for E.W.) by Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (c. 17), ss. 45(3), 70(1); S.I. 2022/418, reg. 2(b) (with reg. 3)
- F2
Words in s. 139A(2) inserted (6.4.2022 for E.W.) by Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (c. 17), ss. 45(4), 70(1); S.I. 2022/418, reg. 2(b) (with reg. 3)
- F3
S. 139A(5)(5ZA) substituted for s. 139A(5) (6.4.2022 for E.W.) by Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (c. 17), ss. 45(5), 70(1); S.I. 2022/418, reg. 2(b) (with reg. 3)
- F4
Words in s. 139A(5)(a) substituted (E.W.) (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. Pt. 1
- F5
Words in s. 139A(5ZA) substituted (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. Pt. 1
- F6
S. 139A(5A)-(5G) repealed (1.12.2020) by Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), s. 416(1), Sch. 28 (with ss. 413(4)(5), 416(7), Sch. 27); S.I. 2020/1236, reg. 2
- F7
S. 139A(5ZB) inserted (1.12.2020) by Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), s. 416(1), Sch. 24 para. 91 (with Sch. 24 para. 447, Sch. 27); S.I. 2020/1236, reg. 2
- F8
S. 139A(6) substituted (6.4.2022 for E.W.) by Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (c. 17), ss. 45(6), 70(1); S.I. 2022/418, reg. 2(b) (with reg. 3)
- F9
S. 139A(6A) inserted (6.4.2022 for E.W.) by Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (c. 17), ss. 45(7), 70(1); S.I. 2022/418, reg. 2(b) (with reg. 3)
- F10
Words in s. 139A(6)(7) substituted (1.11.1996) by 1996 c. 56, ss. 582(1), 583(2), Sch. 37 Pt. I para.69 (with ss. 1(4), 582(3), Sch. 39)
- F11
S. 139A inserted (1.9.1996) by 1996 c. 26, s. 4(1)(4); S.I. 1996/2071, art. 2
- F12
Words in s. 139A heading substituted (6.4.2022 for E.W.) by Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (c. 17), ss. 45(2), 70(1); S.I. 2022/418, reg. 2(b) (with reg. 3)
Marginal citations
- M1
- M2
- M3
- M4
Modifications
- C1
S. 139A modified in part (1.12.2020 immediately before the consolidation date (see 2020 c. 9, ss. 3, 5(2)(3) and 2020 c. 17, ss. 2, 416)) by Sentencing (Pre-consolidation Amendments) Act 2020 (c. 9), ss. 1, 5(2)(3) (with Sch. 1 para. 42); S.I. 2012/1236, reg. 2
Extent
- E1
This version of this provision extends to England and Wales only; a separate version has been created for Northern Ireland only