{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/northern-ireland-emergency-provisions-act-1987-repealed-2781991/section-17",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/northern-ireland-emergency-provisions-act-1987-repealed-2781991/section-17.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1987/30",
  "legislation_title": "Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1987 (repealed 27.8.1991)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/northern-ireland-emergency-provisions-act-1987-repealed-2781991",
  "path": "section/17",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "17",
  "heading": "Prohibition on provision of security services without a certificate.",
  "text": "(1) A person shall not provide, or offer to provide, security services for reward, unless he is, or is acting on behalf of, the holder of a certificate in force under this Part.\n(2) A person shall not publish, or cause to be published, any advertisement for the provision of such services by a person who is not the holder of such a certificate.\n(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and liable—\n(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;\n(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to a fine, or to both.\n(4) Where a person is charged with an offence under this section in respect of an advertisement, it shall be a defence for him to prove—\n(a) that he is a person whose business it is to publish or arrange for the publication of advertisements; and\n(b) that he received the advertisement for publication in the ordinary course of business; and\n(c) that he had reasonable grounds for believing that the person advertised as the provider of the security services in question was the holder of a certificate in force under this Part.\n(5) The following paragraph shall be inserted after paragraph 19C of Schedule 4 to the 1978 Act (scheduled offences)—\n“ Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1987\n19D Offences under section 17 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1987 (provision of security services without a certificate).”\n(6) In this Part “security services” means the services of one or more individuals as security guards (whether with or without any other services relating to the protection of property or persons).",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/30/section/17",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:52:34.230802+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}