| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Citation | 11 & 12 Vict. c. 2 |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 20 December 1847 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
The Prevention of Crime (Ireland) Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 2) was a bill passed by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland] regarding crime in |Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The bill was introduced by Sir George Grey on 29 November 1847, and was passed by both houses; it received royal assent on 20 December 1847. It was passed because of increasing violent criminal activity in Ireland that was causing the government concern. [1]
The bill gave the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland the power to organise the island into districts and bring police forces into them at the districts' expense. It limited who could own guns and, under penalty, coerced all of the men between the ages of 16 and 60 to join in a type of posse comitatus in each district to assist in apprehending suspected murderers when killings took place, or else be guilty of a misdemeanour themselves.
