Criminal Justice Act, 1948, S 20

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Borstal training.

20.—(1) Where a person is convicted on indictment of an offence punishable with imprisonment, then if on the day of his conviction he is not less than fifteen but under twenty-one years of age and a sentence of borstal training is available in his case under subsection (2) of section one of the Criminal Justice Act, 1961, the court may, in lieu of any other sentence, pass a sentence of borstal training.

(4) An offender committed by a court of summary jurisdiction to quarter sessions for sentence under subsection (1) of section twenty-eight of the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1952. shall be committed—

(a) where the court of summary jurisdiction acts for a county other than the County of London or for a borough not having a separate court of quarter sessions, to the appeal committee of the quarter sessions for that county or for the county in which that borough is situated, as the case may be;

(b) in any other case, to the next court of quarter sessions having jurisdiction in the county, borough or place for which the court of summary jurisdiction acts;

and where the offender is so committed to an appeal committee, the clerk to the court of summary jurisdiction shall notify the clerk of the peace, and the clerk of the peace shall give notice to the prosecutor and to the governor of the remand centre or prison to which the offender is committed of the date on which the case will be dealt with by the appeal committee, being the next available sitting of a court consisting of members of that committee.

(5) Where an offender is so committed for sentence as aforesaid, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the appeal committee or court of quarter sessions shall inquire into the circumstances of the case and may—

(i) if a sentence of borstal training is available in his case under subsection (2) of section one of the Criminal Justice Act, 1961, sentence him to borstal training; or

(ii) in any case, deal with him in any manner in which the court of summary jurisdiction might have dealt with him;

(b) the Poor Prisoners Defence Act, 1930, shall apply as if the offender were committed for trial for an indictable offence, subject to the modifications specified in subsections (4) and (5) of section eighteen of the Legal Aid and Advice Act, 1949;

(d) if the appeal committee or court of quarter sessions passes a sentence of borstal training, the offender may appeal against the sentence to the Court of Criminal Appeal as if he had been convicted on indictment, and the provisions of the Criminal Appeal Act, 1907, shall apply accordingly.

(6) References to a court of quarter sessions or a court in any enactment as applied by the last foregoing subsection, or in any other enactment relating to persons dealt with by quarter sessions (including any such enactment contained in this Act) shall be construed as including references to an appeal committee of quarter sessions by whom an offender is dealt with under that subsection.

Volume 643: debated on Thursday 29 June 1961