Sentencing Act 2020

CHAPTER 3 Restitution and restoration

147 Restitution order where goods stolen or obtained by blackmail or fraud

(1) In this Code, “restitution order” means an order made in an offender’s case with respect to particular goods (referred to in this section as “the stolen goods”) that—

(a) requires anyone who has possession or control of the stolen goods (“the holder”) to restore them to any other person entitled to recover them from the holder,

(b) requires any other goods representing the stolen goods to be transferred or delivered to any person entitled to recover those other goods from the offender,

(c) requires payment of a sum out of any removed money to any person who would be entitled to recover the stolen goods from the offender if they were in the offender’s possession, or

(d) requires payment of a sum out of any removed money to—

(i) any person to whom the offender has sold the stolen goods, or

(ii) any person from whom the offender has borrowed money on the security of the stolen goods.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—

(a) goods represent the stolen goods if they are the proceeds of disposal or realisation of all or part of the stolen goods, or of other goods which represent the stolen goods;

(b) “removed money” means money of the offender which was taken out of the offender’s possession when the offender was apprehended.

148 Restitution order: availability

(1) A restitution order with respect to particular goods is available to a court in an offender’s case where—

(a) the goods have been stolen, and

(b) either—

(i) the offender is convicted by or before the court of an offence with reference to the theft of the goods, whether or not the stealing was the gist of it (an “offence related to the theft”), or

(ii) the court takes an offence related to the theft into consideration in determining sentence for any other offence of which the offender is convicted by or before the court.

(2) A restitution order under section 147(1)(b) is available only on the application of the person in whose favour it is to be made.

(3) A restitution order with respect to any goods under section 147(1)(d) is available only if the court has made a restitution order under section 147(1)(a) with respect to the goods.

(4) Making a deferment order, or otherwise deferring sentence, does not preclude a court from making a restitution order.

149 Making a restitution order

(1) This section applies where a restitution order is available to a court in an offender’s case.

(2) The court may make a restitution order only if in the opinion of the court the relevant facts sufficiently appear from any of the following—

(a) evidence given at the trial;

(b) any written statements or admissions which were made for use, and would have been admissible, as evidence at the trial;

(c) any documents served on the offender in pursuance of regulations made under paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (procedure where persons sent for trial);

(d) admissions made by or on behalf of any person in connection with any proposed exercise of the powers to make a restitution order.

(3) If the court makes restitution orders under paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 147(1) in respect of the theft of the same goods, they must not result in the person in whose favour they are made recovering more than the value of those goods.

(4) A restitution order under section 147(1)(c) may not require payment of more than the value of the stolen goods.

(5) Subsections (6) and (7) apply in relation to making to a restitution order under section 147(1)(d) in relation to any goods.

(6) The court may make the restitution order only if satisfied that—

(a) the purchaser was acting in good faith when purchasing the goods, or

(b) the lender was acting in good faith when lending money on the security of the goods.

(7) The restitution order may not require payment of more than—

(a) the amount which the purchaser paid for the purchase, or

(b) the amount owed to the lender in respect of the loan.

150 Restitution orders: supplementary provision about appeals

(1) Subsections (2) and (3) apply where a restitution order has been made in an offender’s case against any person.

Order in respect of offence taken into consideration

(2) Subsection (3) applies where the restitution order was made in respect of an offence taken into consideration by the court in determining sentence for one or more other offences of which the offender was convicted (each, a “main offence”).

(3) The restitution order ceases to have effect if the offender successfully appeals against conviction of the main offence or, if more than one, all the main offences.

Initial period of suspension

(4) Subsection (5) applies to a restitution order made by a magistrates’ court, unless the court directs under subsection (6) that it is not to apply.

(5) The restitution order does not take effect until there is no further possibility of the order being varied or set aside on appeal (disregarding any power to grant leave to appeal out of time).

(6) A magistrates’ court may direct that subsection (5) is not to apply to a restitution order if—

(a) the restitution order is made under section 147(1)(a) or (b), and

(b) the court is of the opinion that the title to the goods to be restored or, as the case may be, delivered or transferred under the order is not in dispute.

(7) A restitution order is to be treated as an order for the restitution of property for the purposes of section 30 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (effect of appeals on such orders).

(8) See, in particular, subsection (1) of that section for provision about—

(a) the initial period of suspension of a restitution order made by the Crown Court, and

(b) the Crown Court’s power to direct that the initial period of suspension is not to apply.

151 Restitution orders: interpretation and application

(1) In this Chapter, references to stealing are to be read in accordance with—

(a) section 1(1) of the Theft Act 1968 (read with the provisions of that Act relating to the construction of section 1(1)), and

(b) subsections (2) and (3).

(See also section 119(2) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which treats unreasonable refusal to deliver pawn as stealing for the purposes of this Chapter.)

(2) In this Chapter, references to goods which have been stolen include references to goods which have been obtained—

(a) by blackmail, or

(b) by fraud (within the meaning of the Fraud Act 2006);

and references to “stealing” and “theft” are to be read accordingly.

(3) In determining for the purposes of this Chapter whether goods have been stolen, it is immaterial whether the stealing occurred—

(a) before or after the Theft Act 1968, or the Fraud Act 2006, came into force, or

(b) in England and Wales or elsewhere,

provided that the stealing (if not an offence under either of those Acts) amounted to an offence where and when the goods were stolen.

(4) In this Chapter, “goods”, except so far as the context otherwise requires, includes money and every other description of property (within the meaning of the Theft Act 1968) except land, and includes things severed from the land by stealing.

(5) A restitution order may be made in respect of money owed by the Crown.