Prison Act 1952 in Scotland

A person shall not officiate as chaplain of two prisons unless the prisons are within convenient distance of each other and are together designed to receive not more than one hundred prisoners.

Notice of the nomination of a chaplain or assistant chaplain to a prison shall, within one month after it is made, be given to the bishop of the diocese in which the prison is situate; and the chaplain or assistant chaplain shall not officiate in the prison except under the authority of a licence from the bishop.

Where in any prison the number of prisoners who belong to a religious denomination other than the Church of England is such as in the opinion of the Secretary of State to require the appointment of a minister of that denomination, the Secretary of State may appoint such a minister to that prison.

The Secretary of State may pay a minister appointed under the preceding subsection such remuneration as he thinks reasonable.

F1The Secretary of State may allow a minister of any denomination other than the Church of England to visit prisoners of his denomination in a prison to which no minister of that denomination has been appointed under this section.

No prisoner shall be visited against his will by such a minister as is mentioned in the last preceding subsection; but every prisoner not belonging to the Church of England shall be allowed, in accordance with the arrangements in force in the prison in which he is confined, to attend chapel or to be visited by the chaplain.

The governor of a prison shall on the reception of each prisoner record the religious denomination to which the prisoner declares himself to belong, and shall give to any minister who under this section is appointed to the prison or permitted to visit prisoners therein a list of the prisoners who have declared themselves to belong to his denomination; and the minister shall not be permitted to visit any other prisoners.

Where any living accommodation is provided for a prison officer or his family by virtue of his office, then, if he ceases to be a prison officer or is suspended from office or dies, he, or, as the case may be, his family, shall quit the accommodation when required to do so by notice of F1the Secretary of State.

Where a prison officer or the family of a prison officer refuses or neglects to quit the accommodation forty–eight hours after the giving of such a notice as aforesaid, any two justices of the peace, on proof made to them of the facts authorising the giving of the notice and of the service of the notice and of the neglect or refusal to comply therewith, may, by warrant under their hands and seals, direct any constable, within a period specified in the warrant, to enter by force, if necessary, into the accommodation and deliver possession of it to a person acting on behalf of the Secretary of State.

A prisoner, whether sentenced to imprisonment or committed to prison on remand or pending trial or otherwise, may be lawfully confined in any prison.

Prisoners shall be committed to such prisons as the Secretary of State may from time to time direct; and may by direction of the Secretary of State be removed during the term of their imprisonment from the prison in which they are confined to any other prison.

A writ, warrant or other legal instrument addressed to the governor of a prison and identifying that prison by its situation or by any other sufficient description shall not be invalidated by reason only that the prison is usually known by a different description.

The Secretary of State shall satisfy himself from time to time that in every prison sufficient accommodation is provided for all prisoners.

No cell shall be used for the confinement of a prisoner unless it is certified by an inspector that its size, lighting, heating, ventilation and fittings are adequate for health and that it allows the prisoner to communicate at any time with a prison officer.

A certificate given under this section in respect of any cell may limit the period for which a prisoner may be separately confined in the cell and the number of hours a day during which a prisoner may be employed therein.

The certificate shall identify the cell to which it relates by a number or mark and the cell shall be marked by that number or mark placed in a conspicuous position; and if the number or mark is changed without the consent of an inspector the certificate shall cease to have effect.

An inspector may withdraw a certificate given under this section in respect of any cell if in his opinion the conditions of the cell are no longer as stated in the certificate.

In every prison special cells shall be provided for the temporary confinement of refractory or violent prisoners.

If an authorisation is in force for the prison, any prison officer may, at the prison, in accordance with prison rules, require any prisoner who is confined in the prison to provide a sample of breath for the purpose of ascertaining whether he has alcohol in his body.

If the authorisation so provides, the power conferred by subsection (1) above shall include power—

In this section—

• “authorisation” means an authorisation by the governor;

• “intimate sample” has the same meaning as in Part V of the M1Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984;

• “prison officer” includes a prisoner custody officer within the meaning of Part IV of the M2Criminal Justice Act 1991;

• “prison rules” means rules under section 47 of this Act.

Rules made under section forty–seven of this Act may provide in what manner an appellant within the meaning of F1Part I of the M1Criminal Appeal Act 1968when in custody, is to be taken to, kept in custody at, and brought back from, any place at which he is entitled to be present for the purposes of that Act, or any place to which the Court of Criminal Appeal or any judge thereof may order him to be taken for the purpose of any proceedings of that court.

The Secretary of State may—

and where any person is directed under this subsection to be taken to any place he shall, unless the Secretary of State otherwise directs, be kept in custody while being so taken, while at that place, and while being taken back to the prison in which he is required in accordance with law to be detained.

In any sentence of imprisonment the word “month” shall, unless the contrary is expressed, be construed as meaning calendar month.

The transfer under the M1Prison Act 1877 of prisons and of the powers and jurisdiction of prison authorities and of justices in sessions assembled and visiting justices shall not be deemed to have affected the jurisdiction of any sheriff or coroner or, except to the extent of that transfer, of any justice of the peace or other officer.

The Secretary of State may by order direct that, for the purpose of any enactment, rule of law or custom dependent on a prison being the prison of any county or place, any prison situated in that county or in the county in which that place is situated, or any prison provided by him in pursuance of this Act, shall be deemed to be the prison of that county or place.

F1The Secretary of State may purchase by agreement orcompulsorily, any land required for the alteration, enlargement or rebuilding of a prison or for establishing a new prison or for any other purpose connected with the management of a prison (including the provision of accommodation for officers or servants employed in a prison).

The M1F3Acquisition of Land Act 1981 shall apply to the compulsory purchase of land by the Secretary of State under this section . . . F4.

In relation to the purchase of land by agreement under this section, F5the provisions of Part I of the M2Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (so far as applicable) other than sections 4 to 8, section 10, and section 31, shall apply.

A person who, without authorisation—

is guilty of an offence.

In this section “authorisation” means authorisation given for the purposes of this section—

In paragraph (a) “specified” means specified in the authorisation.

Authorisation may be given to specified persons or persons of a specified description—

In this subsection “specified” means specified in the authorisation.

Authorisation given by the Secretary of State otherwise than in writing shall be recorded in writing as soon as is reasonably practicable after being given.

Authorisation given by the governor or director of a prison shall—

A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to a fine (or both).

A person who, without authorisation—

is guilty of an offence.

A person who, without authorisation—

is guilty of an offence.

A person who attempts to commit an offence under subsection (2) is guilty of that offence.

In proceedings for an offence under this section it is a defence for the accused to show that—

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

In this section “authorisation” means authorisation given for the purposes of this section; and subsections (1) to (3) of section 40E apply in relation to authorisations so given as they apply to authorisations given for the purposes of section 40D.

A person who, without authorisation, is in possession of an article specified in subsection (2) inside a prison is guilty of an offence.

The articles referred to in subsection (1) are—

In proceedings for an offence under this section it is a defence for the accused to show that—

A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

In this section “authorisation” means authorisation given for the purposes of this section; and subsections (1) to (3) of section 40E apply in relation to authorisations so given as they apply to authorisations given for the purposes of section 40D.

A person who, without authorisation, throws any article or substance into a prison is guilty of an offence.

For the purposes of subsection (1)—

In proceedings for an offence under this section it is a defence for the accused to show that—

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

In this section “authorisation” means authorisation given for the purposes of this section; and subsections (1) to (3) of section 40E apply in relation to authorisations so given as they apply to authorisations given for the purposes of section 40D.

A person who, without authorisation—

is guilty of an offence.

It is immaterial for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) where the recording medium is located.

A person who, without authorisation—

is guilty of an offence.

A person who, without authorisation, is in possession of any of the items specified in subsection (3B) inside a prison is guilty of an offence.

The items referred to in subsection (3A) are—

In proceedings for an offence under this section it is a defence for the accused to show that—

A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

In section 40D (and the following provisions of this section) “authorisation” means authorisation given for the purposes of that section—

In paragraph (a) “specified” means specified in the authorisation.

Authorisation may be given—

In this subsection “specified” means specified in the authorisation.

Authorisation given by or on behalf of the governor or director of a prison must be in writing.

In section 40D “restricted document” means the whole (or any part of)—

In subsection (4)—

• “personal record” means any record which is required by prison rules to be prepared and maintained in relation to any prisoner (and it is immaterial whether or not the individual concerned is still a prisoner at the time of any alleged offence);

• “relevant individual” means an individual who is or has at any time been—

  1. (a)

     a prisoner or a person working at the prison; or

  2. (b)

     a member of such a person's family or household.

In section 40D and this section—

• “document” means anything in which information is recorded (by whatever means);

• “electronic communications” has the same meaning as in the Electronic Communications Act 2000 (c. 7);

• “photograph” means a recording on any medium on which an image is produced or from which an image (including a moving image) may by any means be produced; and

• “sound-recording” means a recording of sounds on any medium from which the sounds may by any means be reproduced.

An individual who—

shall be treated for the purposes of the application of sections 40B to 40D as if he were doing that work as a servant or agent of the Crown.

A designation for the purposes of this section may be given—

The governor or director of a prison may destroy or otherwise dispose of, or arrange for the destruction or other disposal of—

An article which a prisoner is authorised to have in his or her possession is to be treated for the purposes of subsection (1) as not so authorised where the governor or director of the prison reasonably believes that the article is being, has been or may be used for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (3).

Those purposes are—

Where a prisoner is authorised to have an article in his or her possession in a particular part of the prison, subsection (1)(a) or (b)(i) applies only where the property is found otherwise than in that part.

In this section—

The power under subsection (1)—

In subsection (6)(a) “relevant article” means an article specified in section 40A(3)(c) or (d) (cameras and sound-recording devices) or section 40D(3B) (devices capable of transmitting or receiving images, sounds or information by electronic communications, etc).

Any person who, having been sentenced to F1imprisonment or custody for life or ordered to be detained in F2youth detention accommodation or in a young offenders institution, or having been committed to a prison or remand centre, is unlawfully at large, may be arrested by a constable without warrant and taken to the place in which he is required in accordance with law to be detained.

Where any person sentenced to F3imprisonment, or ordered to be detained in F4youth detention accommodation or in a young offenders institution is unlawfully at large at any time during the period for which he is liable to be detained in pursuance of the sentence or order, then, unless the Secretary of State otherwise directs, no account shall be taken, in calculating the period for which he is liable to be so detained, of any time during which he is absent from the F5place in which he is required in accordance with law to be detained:

The provisions of the last preceding subsection shall apply to a person who is detained in custody in default of payment of any sum of money as if he were sentenced to imprisonment.

Where—

the Secretary of State shall exercise the power under that subsection to direct that account shall be taken of that time in calculating the period for which the person is liable to be detained.

In subsection (3A) of this section “category 1 territory” means a territory designated under the Extradition Act 2003 for the purposes of Part 1 of that Act.

For the purposes of this section a person who, after being temporarily released in pursuance of rules made under subsection (5) of section forty–seven of this Act, is at large at any time during the period for which he is liable to be detained in pursuance of his sentence shall be deemed to be unlawfully at large if the period for which he was temporarily released has expired or if an order recalling him has been made by the F10Secretary of Statein pursuance of the rules.

For the purposes of this section a person who, after being temporarily released in pursuance of section 163 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (temporary release from a secure children’s home), is at large at any time during the period for which they are liable to be detained pursuant to their sentence shall be deemed to be unlawfully at large if the period for which they were temporarily released has expired or if they have been recalled under that section.

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In this section “ F14“youth detention accommodation” ” means—

This Act may be cited as the Prison Act 1952.

This Act shall come into operation on the first day of October, nineteen hundred and fifty–two.

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Except as provided in F2. . . F3the M1Criminal Justice Act 1961, this Act shall not extend to Scotland.

This Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.

But (despite subsections (4) and (5)) the following shall extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland—

The Chief Inspector may delegate any of his functions (to such extent as he may determine) to another public authority.

If the carrying out of an inspection is delegated under sub-paragraph (1) above it is nevertheless to be regarded for the purposes of section 5A of this Act and this Schedule as carried out by the Chief Inspector.

In this Schedule “public authority” includes any person certain of whose functions are functions of a public nature.

The Chief Inspector may inspect any aspect of the Crown Court or magistrates’ courts in relation to their criminal jurisdiction which could have been inspected by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Court Administration immediately before its abolition.

Sub-paragraph (1) applies only if the inspection includes matters other than any aspect of the Crown Court or magistrates’ courts.

The power of the Chief Inspector under this paragraph is in addition to the power under paragraph 5 to act jointly with another public authority.