An assault is the act of inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal and/or civil liability. Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and tort law.
Pepper spray is a lachrymatory agent used in policing, riot control, crowd control, and self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears. Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people in danger to use pepper spray in self-defense for an opportunity to escape. It also causes temporary discomfort and burning of the lungs which causes shortness of breath. Although considered a less-than-lethal agent, it has been deadly in rare cases, and concerns have been raised about a number of deaths where being pepper sprayed may have been a contributing factor.
The Theft Act 1968 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales.
On 15 January 2007 the Fraud Act 2006 came into force, redefining most of the offences of deception.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (c.38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which almost entirely applies only to England and Wales. The Act, championed by then Home Secretary, David Blunkett, was passed in 2003. As well as strengthening the anti-social behaviour order and Fixed Penalty Notice provisions, and banning spray paint sales to people under the age of 16, it gives local councils the power to order the removal of graffiti from private property.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, commonly referred to as the NDPS Act, is an Act of the Parliament of India that prohibits a person to produce/manufacture/cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport, store, and/or consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill, 1985 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 August 1985. It was passed by both the Houses of Parliament, received assent from then President Giani Zail Singh on 16 September 1985, and came into force on 14 November 1985. The NDPS Act has since been amended thrice - in 1988, 2001 and 2014. The Act extends to the whole of India and it applies also to all Indian citizens outside India and to all persons on ships and aircraft registered in India.
Public intoxication, also known as "drunk and disorderly" and drunk in public, is a summary offense in some countries rated to public cases or displays of drunkenness. Public intoxication laws vary widely from jurisdiction, but usually require some obvious display of intoxicated incompetence or behavior disruptive/obnoxious to public order before the charge is levied.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c.29) (POCA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides for the confiscation or civil recovery of the proceeds from crime and contains the principal money laundering legislation in the UK.
The Confiscation Act of 1862, or Second Confiscation Act, was a law passed by the United States Congress during the American Civil War. Section 13 of the act formed the legal basis for President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Possession of stolen goods is a crime in which an individual has bought, been given, or acquired stolen goods.
In the United States, a Minor in Possession, or a MIP, is illegal, typically a misdemeanor. In California, depending on the county in which the person is charged, the crime may also be charged as an infraction. Anyone who is under the age of 21 and possesses alcohol in the United States, with the exception of special circumstances, is violating the law of the state.
An immigration officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to ensure that immigration legislation is enforced. This can cover the rules of entry for visa applicants, foreign nationals or those seeking asylum at the border, detecting and apprehending those that have breached the border and removing them, or pursuing those in breach of immigration and criminal laws.
Community safety accreditation schemes enable the chief constable of a police force in the United Kingdom to grant a limited range of police powers to employees of non-police organisations bolstering community safety. Community safety accreditation schemes were created under section 40 of the Police Reform Act 2002. Individuals who have been granted these powers are known under the Act as accredited persons.
The Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to consolidate certain enactments creating offences and relating to the criminal law of Scotland.
Alcohol laws of Australia are laws that regulate the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The legal drinking age is 18 throughout Australia. The minimum age for the purchase of alcoholic products in Australia is 18. A licence to both produce and sell alcohol is required. In most of Australia, an alcoholic beverage is one of greater than 1.15% alcohol by volume, but Queensland and Victoria it is one of greater than 0.5% alcohol by volume. Swan Light, a very low alcohol beer (0.9%) is considered a soft drink in Western Australia, as would a shandy made with low alcohol beer. Whereas brewed kambucha tea is considered alcoholic in Victoria. For this reason most products marketed in Australia will be sold labelled with a statement as to their alcoholic content if above 0.5%, otherwise a product labelled "brewed" may contain some alcohol.
Impaired driving is the term used in Canada to describe the criminal offence of operating,having care or the control of a motor vehicle while the person's ability to operate the motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or a drug. Impaired driving is punishable under multiple offences in the Criminal Code, with greater penalties depending on the harm caused by the impaired driving. It can also result in various types of driver's licence suspensions.
The main Offences against military law in the United Kingdom are set out in the Armed Forces Act 2006.
Social customs and laws on drinking alcohol in public vary significantly around the world. "Public" in this context refers to outdoor spaces such as roads, walkways or parks, or in a moving vehicle. Drinking in bars, restaurants or stadiums, for example, is not generally considered to be "in public" even though those establishments are open to the general public. In some countries, such as India and in larger regions, such as the Muslim world, public drinking is almost universally condemned or outlawed, while in other countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan and China, public drinking and public intoxication is socially acceptable, although may not be entirely legal.
The powers of the police in England and Wales are defined largely by statute law, with the main sources of power being the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Police Act 1996. This article covers the powers of territorial police forces only, but a constable in one of the UK's special police forces gains those powers while he/she is on loan to a territorial force or discovers an incident which is otherwise outside his/her statutory jurisdiction. In law, police powers are given to constables. Some police powers are also available in more limited extent to police community support officers and other non warranted positions such as police civilian investigators or designated detention officers employed by some police forces even though they are not constables.
The Sexual Offences Act, 1957 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which, in its current form, prohibits prostitution, brothel-keeping and procuring, and other activities related to prostitution. Before the law relating to sex offences was consolidated and revised by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2007, it also prohibited various other sex offences, including sex with children under the age of consent and sex with the mentally incompetent. As the Immorality Act it was infamous for prohibiting sex between a white person and a person of another race, until that prohibition was removed by a 1985 amendment.
Tobacco smoking in the United Kingdom is prevalent among a sizeable, but continuously reducing minority of the population. Smoking is legally permitted, with certain conditions upon location arising from the bans enacted separately in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It has been argued that smoking puts considerable strain upon the NHS due to the health problems which can be directly linked with smoking. Successive UK Governments have endeavoured to reduce the prevalence of smoking. As part of this commitment, the NHS currently offers free help to smokers who want to quit.
