Street Offences - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition street-offences

Definition :

Street offences. For list of these, see Town Police Clauses Act, 1847 (Chit. Stat., tit. 'Police'), s. 28 (applied among ss. 21-29 to urban districts by s. 171 of the (English) Public Health Act, 1875 [38 & 39 Vict. c. 55 (Chit. Stat., tit. 'Public Health')], and s. 54 of the Metropolitan Police Acts of 1839 and 1867 [Chit. Stat., tit. 'Police (Metropolis)']. Thirty kinds of offences are specified in the Act of 1847, and seventeen in the Act of 1839. The offences specified in each Act comprise riding or driving furiously, loitering by common prostitute for prostitution, sliding on ice or snow, disturbance by ringing doorbell, discharging firearms, making bonfires, or setting fire to fireworks, and allowing ferocious dogs to be at large. The Act of 1847 also includes keeping swine, and obstructing footways. The Act of 1839 also includes bill posting on buildings without consent of owner, 'blowing horns or any other noisy instrument for the purpose of calling persons together, or of announcing any show, or for the purpose of hawking selling, distributing, or collecting any article whatsoever, or of obtaining money, or alms,' and wilfully disregarding police regulations, 'after having been made acquainted with them,' for regulating routes during divine service, and for preventing obstructions during public processions.

The penalties under each Act are up to 40s., with liability to apprehension by a constable without warrant, the Act of 1847 authorizing imprisonment without the option of a fine.

See also COLLECTIONS, STREET; (English) Child-ren and Young Persons Act, 1933 (23 & 24 Geo. 5, c. 12); and Vann v. Eastough, 52 TLR 14.