Laws repealed or less often used PDF Print

The following laws, formerly relevant to naturists, have either been repealed or have generally fallen out of use.

In these archaic statutes the term "the person" means the penis and, as such, these laws applied to males only.

Breach of the Peace


Breach of the Peace

In the past police often fell back on arrest for 'Breach of the Peace' when their other powers of arrest were inadequate. Given their greatly increased powers, this "catch all" power may now only be used infrequently - although it has not been repealed.

Breach of the Peace is an ancient “common law” power that pre-dates Parliament. The police can exercise it if they reasonably believe that you are using or about to use violence against persons or, in their presence, against their property.

They can also arrest you if they reasonably believe that by your actions you are provoking or will provoke the imminent use of violence by others.

Should you be taken before a Court for "conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace" you would be "bound over" to keep the Peace for a given period of time.

Binding over to keep the peace

It is enough for the prosecution to prove that there was a real risk of violence (not necessarily from the person arrested) to justify the exercise of this power. There is no right to bail, and therefore anybody arrested for this purpose can be kept in police custody until the next available sitting of the magistrates (even over a weekend). The person brought before the court must consent to be bound over - refusal to consent, if the magistrates find that the application is justified, carries the risk of imprisonment. Most people agree!

An order to bind somebody over will specify a period of time (usually twelve months) and a sum of money (which will depend on the person’s means but is typically in the range £50-£100). Note that this is not a fine, no money has to be paid unless and until the person gets arrested for another matter within the period specified.

In addition to a case of 'Breach of the Peace' the prosecution may sometimes offer a bind-over in court as an alternative to charges for a minor public order offence – e.g. under Section 5 Public Order Act 1986.

A bind over does not rank as a criminal conviction.

A retired police officer and naturist offers this advice:

"This is very old law and anyone taken before a Court will be prosecuted under the Justices of the Peace Act, 1361 - that's not a typing error, it is over 600 years old. It is still used everyday by police officers, no police officer could do his job effectively without it. 'To uphold the Queen`s Peace' is part of the oath taken by a police officer (before a Magistrate) on appointment.

This law affects naturists using traditional free-sun beaches in the most important of ways - it actually allows them to be there! I cannot recall this ever being tested in Court but if there was a case to answer it would have been tried sometime in 600 years!

So how does it work? To understand that, you will need to understand what the Peace is. The Queen's (or King's) Peace is the normal state of society and any disturbance of that Peace is a 'Breach of the Peace'. Simple!

The 'normal state of society' varies from place to place and time to time. For example, conduct perfectly acceptable at a football match would not be appreciated in a churchyard. The normal state of society on a recognised naturist free-sun is nudity - so just by being naked you cannot disturb that state. There is, therefore, no Breach of the Peace and the police cannot stop you from enjoying your day in the sun"

Vagrancy Act 1824


Vagrancy Act 1824

Section 4 of this Act provides that :

"every person who wilfully, openly, lewdly and obscenely exposes his person with intent to insult a female shall be deemed a rogue and a vagabond and liable to imprisonment therefore for a period of three months"

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 amended the Vagrancy Act 1824 in such a manner as to effectively end its use in cases of exposure.

Town Police Clauses Act 1847

The Town Police Clauses Act of 1847 provides that

" every person who wilfully and indecently exposes his person in a street to the annoyance of residents or passengers shall be guilty of an offence and liable for up to 14 days' imprisonment"

The Town Police Clauses Act 1847 was intended to protect public transport users from male nudity. In this case there is no need for a female to be insulted.

Section 28 Town Police Clauses Act 1847

This section also makes it an offence for any person to wilfully and indecently expose his person in any street to the

"obstruction, annoyance or danger, of the residents or passengers".

In this offence, as in the previous one, the words "the person" means penis.

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 amended the The Town Police Clauses Act of 1847 and has effectively ended its use in cases of exposure.

Please Note:
The information given on this page is intended only as a general guide to the the legal position . It was not written by a legally-qualified individual.
It should not be relied upon as a definitive guide to the law , and is only applicable to England and Wales. The law in Scotland and Northern Ireland may be different.
Neither the author nor the publishers of this FactFile can be held responsible should naturism or nudity cause you to be arrested and / or prosecuted for any offence.
 
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