Section 20: Sex offender orders., Crime and Disorder Act 1998

An application for an order under this section may be made by a chief constable if it appears to him that the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) below are fulfilled with respect to any person who he believes is in, or is intending to come to, the area of his police force .

The conditions are—

that the person in respect of whom the application for the order is made is—

of or over the age of 16 years; and

a sex offender; and

that the person has acted, since the relevant date, in such a way as to give reasonable cause to believe that an order under this section is necessary to protect the public in the United Kingdom, or any particular members of that public from serious harm from him.

An application under subsection (1) above shall be made by summary application to

the sheriff within whose sheriffdom the person is alleged to have acted as mentioned in subsection (2)(b) above.

the sheriff whose sheriffdom includes any part of the area of the applicant’s police force.

; or

On an application under subsection (1) above the sheriff may—

pending the determination of the application, make any such interim order as he considers appropriate; and

if he is satisfied that the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) above are fulfilled, make an order under this section (“a sex offender order”) which prohibits the person in respect of whom it is made from doing anything described in the order.

The prohibitions that may be imposed by an order made under subsection (4) above are those necessary for the purpose of protecting the public in the United Kingdom, or any particular members of that public, from serious harm from the person in respect of whom the order is made.

While a sex offender order has effect, Part I of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 shall have effect as if—

the person in respect of whom the order has been obtained were subject to the notification requirements of that Part; and

in relation to that person, the relevant date (within the meaning of that Part) were the date on which the copy of the order was given or delivered to that person in accordance with subsections (8) and (9) of section 21 below.

Section 3 above applies for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of section 2 above with the following modifications—

any reference in that section to the defendant shall be construed as a reference to the person in respect of whom the order is sought; and

in subsection (2) of that section, the reference to subsection (1) of the said section 2 shall be construed as a reference to subsection (2)(b) of this section.

A constable may arrest without warrant a person whom he reasonably suspects of doing, or having done, anything prohibited by an order under subsection (4)(a) above or a sex offender order.

Section 20: Sex offender orders.

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