TeeJF
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Hopefully we are all aware of the law in the UK regarding trespass, something of a "none-crime" in many ways because it is to all intents and purposes un-enforceable so long as you don't damage anything on site, steal anything or take with you "tools" such as might be used to commit an act of burglary, breaking and entering etc. At least that's how I understand it - and assuming you politely comply with the owner's (or his representative's) request to leave the site there is little can be done to you in law beyond a stern telling off, even when the dibble are called as often happens. I'm not even sure if you are obliged to stay and wait for the dibble's arrival. The application of a guard dog's teeth to one's nether regions are another matter of course and I'm far from sure how the law works on that.
...and of course lets not forget that trespass on a military site or the railways IS a crime at any time...
But...
What exactly is aggravated trespass, a crime for which I think you CAN be prosecuted? I hear conflicting descriptions and above the fact that this law only arrived on the statute book relatively recently I can find little or no comment.
The impression I get is that arriving on site with tools to cause some form of mayhem is aggravated trespass but then how is that different from arriving with the tools to break in and commit a burglary?
Presumably being found on site with a can of spray paint would be an act of aggravated trespass?
BUT...
I am also under the impression that having been caught trespassing on a site in the conventional sense and having been asked to leave, if you were then caught back on the same site at a later date you would now have carried out an act of aggravated trespass and could find yourself open to prosecution for an actual crime?
Is anyone who reads this forum a solicitor or the like who can clarify this law (preferably accurately and without assumptions or surmise) please?
Please note: I FULLY appreciate that the law in other countries can be quite different and indeed that ordinary common or garden trespass is actually a criminal offense in many countries, not least Germany. The question I am asking here is pertinent to UK law only...
...and of course lets not forget that trespass on a military site or the railways IS a crime at any time...
But...
What exactly is aggravated trespass, a crime for which I think you CAN be prosecuted? I hear conflicting descriptions and above the fact that this law only arrived on the statute book relatively recently I can find little or no comment.
The impression I get is that arriving on site with tools to cause some form of mayhem is aggravated trespass but then how is that different from arriving with the tools to break in and commit a burglary?
Presumably being found on site with a can of spray paint would be an act of aggravated trespass?
BUT...
I am also under the impression that having been caught trespassing on a site in the conventional sense and having been asked to leave, if you were then caught back on the same site at a later date you would now have carried out an act of aggravated trespass and could find yourself open to prosecution for an actual crime?
Is anyone who reads this forum a solicitor or the like who can clarify this law (preferably accurately and without assumptions or surmise) please?
Please note: I FULLY appreciate that the law in other countries can be quite different and indeed that ordinary common or garden trespass is actually a criminal offense in many countries, not least Germany. The question I am asking here is pertinent to UK law only...
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