Prison Act 1877

Prison Act 1877 ^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to amend the Law relating to Prisons in England.
Citation	40 & 41 Vict. c. 21
Territorial extent	England and Wales [b]
Dates
Royal assent	12 July 1877
Commencement	1 April 1878 [c]
Repealed	1 October 1952
Other legislation
Amends	Prison Act 1865
Amended by	Statute Law Revision Act 1883 Sheriffs Act 1887 Coroners Act 1887
Repealed by	Prison Act 1952
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Prison Act 1877 (40 & 41 Vict. c. 21) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to alter the way in which British prisons were operated.

Detail

By the 19th century, concerns had been raised about the uncoordinated and incoherent nature of the prison system in Britain. Many gaols were operated by local authorities, to a varying degree of quality. The Prison Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 126 had increased central controls over these prisons, but local practices continued to vary widely.

In 1877, Parliament took the major step of enacting a long-standing proposal to centralise the running of British prisons.

The Home Secretary was given powers over the new structure, which was delegated in the act to the new Board of Prison Commissioners, supported by an inspectorate and central staff. Further legislation was not felt necessary until 1895. ^{[d] [1]}

Provisions

Short title, commencement and extent

Section 1 of the act provided that the act may be cited as "The Prison Act, 1877".

Section 2 of the act provided that the act would come into force on 1 April 1878.

Section 3 of the act provided that the act would not extend to Scotland or Ireland.

Legacy

The whole act was repealed by section 54(2) of, and part I of the fourth schedule to, the Prison Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. 52).

See also

• Prison Act

Notes

1. Section 1.
2. Section 3.
3. Section 2.
4. Prison Act 1898

References

1. Fox, pp.47-8.

Bibliography

• Anderson, Robert. The Prison Acts of 1877 and 1865. London. 1878. Catalogue.
• Fox, Lionel. (2001) The English Prison and Borstal Systems: an account of the prison and Borstal systems. London: Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-17738-2.
• Wilkinson, Robert. The Law of Prisons in England and Wales, being the Prison Act, 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 126), and the Prison Act, 1877 (40 & 41 Vict. c. 21). Knight & Co. Fleet Street, London. 1878. Google Books Internet Archive.