Commentary on Sections Prison security Section 45: Offences relating to electronic communications devices in prison
212.Paragraph (c) amends section 40D of the Prison Act 1952 to create a new offence of possession, without authorisation, of a device capable of transmitting or receiving images, sounds or information by electronic communications in a prison. This includes mobile telephones as well as other devices which are capable of accessing the internet or are otherwise capable of sending or receiving data. The new offence will also extend to the possession of any component part or article designed or adapted for use with such a device, such as a SIM card or a charger for a mobile telephone.
213.Section 45 also makes a minor amendment to section 40D(1) of the Prison Act 1952, to align it more closely with the new offence described above (see paragraph (a) of the section). Under section 40D(1) (before amendment by this Act) it is an offence for a person to transmit, by electronic communications, “any image or any sound” from inside a prison for simultaneous reception outside a prison. The amendment extends this offence to the transmission of images, sounds or information. This amendment means that section 40D(3)(b), under which it is an offence to transmit a restricted document from inside a prison, is no longer necessary, and that provision is repealed by paragraph (b).