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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> Director of Public Prosecutions v Stanley [2022] EWHC 3187 (Admin) (15 November 2022) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2022/3187.html Cite as: [2022] EWHC 3187 (Admin) |
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KING'S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
B e f o r e :
and
MRS JUSTICE MAY
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DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
Appellant |
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- and - |
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STANLEY |
Respondent |
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Official Court Reporters and Audio Transcribers
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THE RESPONDENT did not appear and was not represented.
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Crown Copyright ©
MRS JUSTICE MAY:
Introduction
The factual background
The DJ's decision and his question for this court
"8…as a matter of logic, it seemed to me that the offence could not be both the underlying offence and fulfil the requisite additional feature of involving the possession of a blade. To do so would be parasitic.
…
14. In my judgment, in accordance with principles of statutory construction, if Parliament had intended to add the words "or d0 the offence is one of possession of a bladed article contrary to s.139(1) and (6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988" then it would have done so. My view was that s.19(10)(c) was intended to bring other non-violent offences (such as burglary, drug supply etc) within the definition of "relevant offence" if at the time of committing such an offence the defendant was in possession of a blade.
"Is a single offence of possession of a bladed article capable of being a 'relevant offence' within the meaning of s.19(1) and 10(c) of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019?"
The legal framework
"(1) This section applies where-
(a) a person aged 12 or over (the 'defendant') is convicted of an offence which was committed after the coming into force of this section, and
(b) a court dealing with the defendant in respect of the offence is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the offence is a relevant offence.
(2) The court may make a knife crime prevention order under this section in respect of the defendant if the following conditions are met.
...
(4) The second condition is that the court thinks that it is necessary to make the order-
(a) to protect the public in England and Wales from the risk of harm involving a bladed article,
(b) to protect any particular members of the public in England and Wales (including the defendant) from such risk, or
(c) to prevent the defendant from committing an offence involving a bladed article.
...
(10) For the purposes of this section an offence is a relevant offence if-
(a) the offence involved violence,
(b) a bladed article was used, by the defendant or any other person, in the commission of the offence, or
(c) the defendant or another person who committed the offence had a bladed article with them when the offence was committed."
"The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (also described as 'the Act') received Royal Assent on 16 May 2019. The Act includes new legislative measures to control the sale of knives and corrosive substances, and it introduces new offences on their possession and use. It also restricts access to certain firearms. Separate statutory guidance will be issued, under section 66 of the Act, that relates to the implementation of Parts one, three, four and five of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.
Part two of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 introduces Knife Crime Prevention Order (KCPOs). These civil orders are designed to, with the approval of the Court, provide the police with a tool to help steer young people and others away from knife crime and from routinely carrying knives in public.
KCPOs will help to divert those who may be carrying knives, or who are at greatest risk of being drawn into serious violence, away from being involved in knife crime. They will also help to prevent others who have been involved in knife crime from further offending when an order is granted by the court following a conviction.
The intention is that KCPOs will be preventative rather than punitive – to help prevent knife crime, by using positive requirements to help steer the individual away from serious violence and to address factors in their lives that may increase the chances of offending, alongside measures to prohibit certain activities to help prevent future offending."
The DPP's submissions
Discussion and decision
"Words and passages in a statute derive their meaning from their context. A phrase or passage must be read in the context of the section as a whole and in the wider context of a relevant group of sections. Other provisions in a statute and the statute as a whole may provide the relevant context. They are the words which Parliament has chosen to enact as an expression of the purpose of the legislation and are therefore the primary source by which meaning is ascertained."
"Possession of a bladed article is a relevant offence for the purposes of s.19 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019. There is no requirement for any other offence to have been committed at the same time."
Conclusion
LORD JUSTICE EDIS: