Control of Use of Catapults on Council Owned Land

BOROUGH OF POOLE

ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

30th April 2009

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF LEISURE SERVICES

CONTROL OF USE OF CATAPULTS ON COUNCIL OWNED LAND

PART OF THE PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN - NO

STATUS – SERVICE DELIVERY

1 / Purpose
1.1 / The purpose of this report is to advise members of the further research on the control of catapults undertaken by officers following the request by members at the meeting of this committee on 8th December 2008.
2 / Decision Required
2.1 / Members are advised to recommend to Council that:
(i) It is noted that the use of catapults, if used to cause damage to property or as a weapon, is a criminal matter and that the Police have powers under the Prevention of Crime Act to seize catapults.
3 / Summary
3.1 / It is recognised that both the public and Members are rightly concerned regarding the misuse of catapults on Council owned land. However, the Government’s view is that the existing criminal law is adequate to control the serious misuse of catapults, e.g. as weapons.
4 / Catapults and the law
4.1 / Under the 1953 Prevention of Crime Act, the carrying of an offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse is an offence. The Police seize catapults if they suspect they may be used to cause damage to property or as a weapon. As previously reported to this committee, catapults are not specifically listed as offensive weapons or prohibited articles and there is no legislation that specifically targets them. However, a range of items could be deemed to be an offensive weapon and this is dependent on the intention of the individual carrying the weapon.
4.2 / The use of catapults as offensive weapons was raised in Parliament on 23rd February 2009 by Annette Brooke MP, who has kindly provided a copy of the written response to her question and subsequent correspondence from Alan Campbell MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office. The correspondence indicates that the Government is concerned about the possibility of catapults being misused and does have the power to ban the manufacture, sale and importation of weapons by specifying them in an order. Whilst this power has been used with respect, for example, to certain types of knife, the Government currently feels that it would be difficult to apply this to catapults without prohibiting those made by children for innocent recreational use. The Government will continue to monitor the situation. A copy of the correspondence is provided in Appendix A.
5 / Potential control of catapults by Byelaws – current situation in Poole
5.1 / The Borough’s “Pleasure Ground Byelaws”, most recently amended in 1968, cover the majority (though not all) of the Council’s open spaces. These do not cover other land owned by the Borough such as highways, school grounds and verges.
5.2 / The byelaws for open spaces contain no specific reference to catapults. However, the byelaws do prohibit the taking, destroying or injuring of any bird or the use of any instrument or means for the taking, injuring or destruction of any bird. In addition the Byelaws require that no person shall “disturb…or annoy any other person in the proper use of the pleasure ground”. It is believed, therefore, that in many cases the misuse of catapults (though not simple possession) would be a breach of the existing Byelaw for those sites covered.
5.3 / In addition to the penalty for breach of the byelaw, in certain circumstances, an offender may be removed by a Council Officer or any constable from the open space if, for example, further breaches of the Byelaws are likely.
6 / Control of catapults by Byelaws – situation in other areas
6.1 / A number of nearby local authorities have revised their open space byelaws relatively recently. Bournemouth Borough Council and East Dorset District Council both have Local Nature Reserve Byelaws, which prohibit “projecting any missile manually or by artificial means”. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Corfe Mullen Parish Council have open space byelaws requiring “that no person shall throw or use any device to propel or discharge…any object which is likely to cause injury to any other person”. Bournemouth Borough Council Byelaws require that “No person shall,…to the danger or annoyance of any other person…throw or discharge any missile”.
6.2 / Byelaws may be made by local authorities under a number of Acts of Parliament and require confirmation by a Secretary of State. The Government has published “model byelaws” for a number of purposes (including open spaces) and most of the recently adopted byelaws referred to above largely follow the published models. The most recent open space model Byelaws contain the following wording “No person shall throw or use any device to propel or discharge in the ground any object which is liable to cause injury to any other person”. Similarly, the most recent Local Nature Reserve Model Byelaws prohibit “Projecting any missile manually or by artificial means”.
6.3 / Some open spaces are covered by more specific byelaws e.g. Wimbledon and Putney Common (information provided by a member) but these are often under specific enabling legislation, in this case The Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act 1871. Previous discussions between officers of the Council and Government representative regarding significant departure from the scope of model byelaws were long-drawn out and inconclusive.
6.4 / In any application to confirm byelaws the Government will wish to ensure that proposed byelaws do not duplicate or conflict with general law and that they address a genuine problem, which merits criminal sanctions.
7 / Enforcement
7.1 / Prohibition of an activity does not prevent it. The Borough has an extensive land holding and the resources of both the Police and Council to supervise these areas are limited. There is close co-operation between the Police and other agencies, e.g. through the Safer Neighbourhood Panels. The Police did apprehend an offender following a recent case in Poole involving the use of a catapult.
8 / Discussion
8.1 / Where misuse constitutes a nuisance, rather than a threat to persons or property then some control is possible by existing Byelaws and updating the existing byelaws, in line with current Government Models would strengthen this.
9 / Financial Implications
9.1 / The recommendation of this report has no financial implications
10 / Legal implications
10.1 / The recommendation of this report has no legal implications.

CLIVE SMITH

HEAD OF LEISURE SERVICES

Contact Officers:

Nick Woods, Business Support Team Leader – (01202) 261334

Background Papers:

Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee 8 December 2008.

Report Version: 15/4/09 Page 1

Please reply to Constituency Office using reference: ab/as

Mr. Steve Cattle

Assistant Democratic Services Manager Legal and Democratic Services

Poole Borough Council

Civic Centre

Poole

BH152RU

27th February 2009

Report Version: 15/4/09 Page 1

Dear Mr Cattle Steve

Further to my recent letter I enclose a copy of the reply that I have received to my recent parliamentary question on the classification of catapults· as offensive weapons. I hope that the enclosed information is of interest, and that you will not hesitate to get in touch if I can be of any further assistance and also a copy of a reply to my letter to the Home Office.

Yours sincerely,

Annette Brooke M.P.

Westminster Office: Tel 02072198193 Fax: 02072191898

Constituency Office: 14 York Road, Broadstone, Dorset, BHl8 8ET Tel: 01202 693555 Fax; 01202 658420 Email: Website; www.annettebrooke.org.uk

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Written Question - answered 23rd February 2009

Offensive Weapons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the use of catapults as offensive weapons; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 10 February 2009]: The Home Office has received both public and ministerial correspondence on the use of catapults as offensive weapons. The law is clear that if someone is carrying a catapult with intent to cause injury he may be liable to prosecution under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 which makes it an offence to carry an offensive weapon in public without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.

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,,------.

Home Office

Alan Campbell MP

PARLIAMENTARY UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE

2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Annette Brooke MP House of Commons London

SW1AOAA

Our Reference: M2450/9

24 FEB 2009

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Thank you for your letter of 9 February to the Home Secretary.on behalf of Poole Borough Council regarding a review of the law on the misuse of catapults. Your letter has been passed to me as Minister responsible for policy in this area.

The Government is concerned about the possibility of catapults. being misused. Under section 141 of the Criminal .Justice Act 1988, the Home Secretary has the power to ban the manufacture, sale and importation of weapol1sby specifying them in an Order. Eighteen weapons have been banned in this way.

She is always willing to consider adding further articles to this list but any candidate for this must, however, be capable of being described in law in a way which distinguishes it from articles·which have legitimate uses. All of the currently banned articles have features which enable this to be done. Examples from the current Order are a "push dagger, being a knife the handle of which. fits within a clenched fist and the blade of which protrudes between two fingers", and a "butterfly knife being a blade enclosed by a handle, which is designed to split down the middle".

However, it would be very difficult indeed to come up with a definition of catapults for the purpose of adding it to the list of banned weapons, without also prohibiting catapults such as those made by children for innocent recreational use.

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There is no specific legislation dealing with the use of catapults but Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 prohibits the possession, in a public place, of any offensive weapons without good reason or lawful excuse. The definition of an offensive weapon under that provision includes any article intended by the person carrying it for use for causing an injury. This is a serious offence carrying a penalty of up to four years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both.

I can assure you that we will continue to monitor the situation.

Yours

ALAN CAMPBELL

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