{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/prevention-of-crimes-act-1871/section-20",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/prevention-of-crimes-act-1871/section-20.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/Vict/34-35/112",
  "legislation_title": "Prevention of Crimes Act 1871",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/prevention-of-crimes-act-1871",
  "path": "section/20",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "20",
  "heading": "Interpretation. “Offence:” “Indictment:” “Police district:” “Chief officer of police:”",
  "text": ". . .\nThe expression “crime” means, in England and Ireland, any felony, or the offence of uttering false or counterfeit coin, or of possessing counterfeit gold or silver coin, or the offence of obtaining goods or money by false pretences, or the offence of conspiracy to defraud, or any misdemeanour under the fifty–eighth section of the Larceny Act 1861; and in Scotland, any of the pleas of the Crown, any theft which, in respect of any aggravation, or of the amount in value of the money, goods, or thing stolen, may be punished with penal servitude, any forgery, and any uttering of any forged writing, falsehood, fraud, and wilful imposition, uttering base coin, or the possession of such coin with intent to utter the same.\nThe expression “offence” means any act or omission which is not a crime as defined by this Act, and is punishable on indictment or summary conviction.\nThe expression “indictment” shall in Scotland include criminal letters and criminal libel.\nThe expression “police district” means—\n. . .\nIn Ireland,—\n(1)The police district of Dublin metropolis:\n(2)Elsewhere in Ireland, any district, whether city, town, or country, over which is appointed a sub–inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary.\nThe expression “chief officer of police” means—\n. . .\nIn Ireland,—\n(1)In the police district of Dublin metropolis, either of the commissioners of police for the said district:\n(2)Elsewhere in Ireland, in any other police district, the sub–inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary:\nAny act or thing by this Act authorized to be done by the chief officer of police may be done by any person authorized by him in that behalf.\n. . .",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Definition repealed by Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1893 (c. 54)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Definition repealed by Police Act 1964 (c. 48), Sch. 10 Pt. I and Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (c. 77), Sch. 5 Pt. II"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Definition repealed by Police Act 1964 (c. 48), Sch. 10 Pt. I and Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (c. 77), Sch. 5 Pt. I"
    },
    {
      "type": "M",
      "label": "M1",
      "text": "1861 c. 96."
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "Reference to penal servitude to be construed as reference to imprisonment: Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21), s. 221(1)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C2",
      "text": "S. 20 repealed (E.W.) by Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58), Sch. 3 Pt. I"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/34-35/112/section/20",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T12:52:45.696789+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."
}