Legislation – Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015
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Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, Section 57 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 14 December 2025. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
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PART 8VIOLENT OFFENCES PREVENTION ORDERS
Violent offences prevention orders
Violent offences prevention order made on application of Chief Constable57
(1)
A court of summary jurisdiction may make a violent offences prevention order in respect of D where subsection (2) applies to D and the court is satisfied that D’s behaviour since the appropriate date makes it necessary to make such an order for the purpose of protecting the public from the risk of serious violent harm caused by D.
(2)
This subsection applies to D where—
(a)
an application under subsection (3) has been made to the court in respect of D, and
(b)
on the application, it is proved that D is a qualifying offender.
(3)
The Chief Constable may by complaint apply for a violent offences prevention order to be made in respect of a person who resides in Northern Ireland or who the Chief Constable believes is in, or is intending to come to, Northern Ireland if it appears to the Chief Constable that—
(a)
the person is a qualifying offender, and
(b)
the person has, since the appropriate date, acted in such a way as to give reasonable cause to believe that it is necessary for a violent offences prevention order to be made in respect of the person.
(4)
In this section “the appropriate date” means the date (or, as the case may be, the first date) on which the person became a person within any of paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 58(2) or (3).
(5)
On an application under subsection (3) in respect of D the court must—
(a)
afford D an opportunity of making representations; and
(b)
in deciding whether it is necessary to make a violent offences prevention order for the purpose of protecting the public from the risk of serious violent harm caused by D, have regard to whether D would, at any time when such an order would be in force, be subject under any other statutory provision to any measures that would operate to protect the public from the risk of such harm.
F1(6)
Article 78(1) of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 does not apply to a complaint under this section.