UK Act of Parliament
2015
United Kingdom
Serious Crime Act 2015
At a glance
Enforced by
What's here
16 compliance obligations, 1 practical guide
Penalty landscape
3 of 16 obligations carry imprisonment (5 years). 9 carry different penalties and 4 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Who this Act binds
Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.
- Any Person 12
Plus 4 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.
Relevant guidance
Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.
Direct — cites this Act
1 guidesOther Acts binding the same actors
For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.
Any Person also bound by 2338 other Acts (top 5 shown)
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012 2012 169 duties
- Merchant Shipping Act 1995 1995 144 duties
- Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 2016 101 duties
- Road Traffic Act 1988 1988 95 duties
- Air Navigation Order 2016 2016 95 duties
What this Act requires
Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.
Part 1 — Proceeds of crime
Orders for securing compliance with confiscation order
3 months imprisonment- Breach of a compliance order related to confiscation Any Person
Browse 39 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Determination of extent of defendant's interest in property
Provision of information
Appeals
Enforcement receivers
Time for payment
Confiscation and victim surcharge orders
Orders for securing compliance with confiscation order
Variation or discharge
Absconding defendants
Default sentences
Conditions for exercise of restraint order powers
Continuation of restraint order after quashed conviction
Conditions for exercise of search and seizure powers
Seized money etc
Restitution order and victim surcharge
Compliance orders: appeals by prosecutor
Accused persons unlawfully at large
Enforcement of confiscation orders
Conditions for exercise of restraint order powers
Continuation of restraint order after conviction quashed or verdict set aside
Conditions for exercise of search and seizure powers
Prohibitory property orders: PPO receivers
Determination of extent of defendant's interest in property
Provision of information
Appeals
Enforcement receivers
Time for payment
Orders for securing compliance with confiscation order
Variation or discharge
Absconding defendants
Default sentences
Conditions for exercise of restraint order powers
Continuation of restraint order after quashed conviction
Conditions for exercise of search and seizure powers
Seized money etc
Exemption from civil liability for money-laundering disclosures
Confiscation investigations
External orders and investigations: meaning of “obtaining property”
Confiscation orders by magistrates' courts
Part 2 — Computer misuse
Unauthorised acts causing, or creating risk of, serious damage
life imprisonment- Carry out unauthorised computer act causing serious damage Any Person
Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Part 3 — Organised, serious and gang-related crime
Offence of participating in activities of organised crime group
5 years imprisonment- Participate in organised crime group activities Any Person
Browse 6 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Extension of Part 1 of Serious Crime Act 2007 to Scotland
Serious crime prevention orders: meaning of “serious offence”
Powers of Crown Court to replace orders on breach
Extension of order where person charged
Serious crime prevention orders and financial reporting etc
Injunctions to prevent gang-related violence and drug-dealing activity
Part 4 — Seizure and forfeiture of drug-cutting agents
Execution of search and seizure warrants
Fine up to £1,000- Obstruct police or customs officer executing a search warrant Any Person
Notice to be given where substances seized
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Officers must provide written notice of seized substances Statutory regulator
Forfeiture and disposal, or return, of seized substances
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Magistrates' Court must order return of seized substances if not drug-related Tribunal / Court
Return of substance to person entitled to it, or disposal if return impracticable
Unlimited fineOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Police or customs must return seized substances or dispose of them Statutory regulator
Browse 10 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Applications for search and seizure warrants
Further provisions about search and seizure warrants
Seizure of substances under search and seizure warrant
Seizure of substances without search and seizure warrant
Containers
Initial retention of seized substances
Continued retention or return of seized substances
Appeal against decision under section 61
Compensation
Interpretation etc
Part 5 — Protection of children and others
Possession of paedophile manual
3 years imprisonment- Possess paedophile manual Any Person
Anonymity for victims of female genital mutilation
Unlimited fine- Publish identifying information of an FGM victim Any Person
Offence of failing to protect girl from risk of genital mutilation
7 years imprisonment- Fail to protect a girl from the risk of genital mutilation Any Person
Female genital mutilation protection orders
5 years imprisonment- Breach a female genital mutilation protection order Any Person
Duty to notify police of female genital mutilation
- Notify the police if you discover FGM on a girl under 18 Any Person
Offences under section 75A committed outside the United Kingdom
5 years imprisonment- Commit strangulation or suffocation offences outside the UK Any Person
Browse 9 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Child cruelty offence
Sexual communication with a child
Child sexual exploitation
Offence of female genital mutilation: extra-territorial acts
Guidance about female genital mutilation
Strangulation or suffocation
Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship
Offences under section 76 committed outside the United Kingdom
Guidance about investigation of offences under section 76
Part 6 — Miscellaneous and general
Knives and offensive weapons in prisons
4 years imprisonment- Unauthorised possession of a knife or weapon in a prison Any Person
Throwing articles into prisons
2 years imprisonment- Throw articles into prison without authorisation Any Person
Termination of pregnancy on grounds of sex of foetus
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Secretary of State must assess and plan against sex-selective abortion Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 10 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Prevention or restriction of use of communication devices by prisoners etc
Prevention or restriction of use of communication devices for drug dealing
Preparation or training abroad for terrorism
Approval of draft decisions under Article 352 of TFEU relating to serious crime
Codes of practice about investigatory powers: journalistic sources
Minor and consequential amendments
Transitional and saving provisions
Extent
Commencement
Short title
Schedules
Browse 142 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Amendments of Serious Crime Act 2007: Scotland
Paedophile manuals: providers of information society services
The Serious Crime Act 2007 is amended as set out...
(1) Section 9 (right of third parties to make representations)...
In section 10 (notice requirements in relation to orders), in...
(1) Section 12 (restrictions for legal professional privilege) is amended...
In section 13 (restrictions on excluded material and banking information),...
(1) Section 17 (variation of orders) is amended as follows....
(1) Section 18 (discharge of orders) is amended as follows....
In section 22 (inter-relationship between different types of order), at...
After that section insert— Extension of jurisdiction: Scotland Orders by...
After section 24 insert— Additional right of appeal from Court...
(1) Section 27 (powers to wind up companies etc: England...
(1) Section 1 (serious crime prevention orders) is amended as...
After section 27 insert— Powers to wind up companies etc:...
(1) Section 29 (powers to wind up: supplementary) is amended...
(1) Section 31 (other partnerships) is amended as follows.
In section 32 (unincorporated associations) omit sub-paragraph (ii) of subsection...
In section 34 (providers of information society services), in subsection...
After section 36 insert— Proceedings in the High Court of...
In section 39 (compliance with orders: authorised monitors), in the...
(1) Section 40 (costs in relation to authorised monitors) is...
In section 43 (index of defined expressions), at the appropriate...
In section 89 (orders)— (a) in subsection (1), for “,...
In section 2 (involvement in serious crime: England and Wales...
In section 93 (extent), in subsection (2) (provisions that extend...
In Schedule 1 (serious offences), after Part 1 insert— PART...
After section 2 insert— Involvement in serious crime: Scotland orders...
In section 3 (involvement in serious crime: Northern Ireland orders),...
In section 4 (involvement in serious crime: supplementary), after subsection...
In section 5 (type of provision that may be made...
In section 7 (other exceptions), after subsection (1) insert—
In section 8 (limited class of applicants for making of...
Execution of search and seizure warrants
(1) A search and seizure warrant may be executed by...
(1) A police or customs officer executing a search and...
(1) A search and seizure warrant must be returned to...
(1) In this Schedule— “all-premises warrant” and “specific-premises warrant” have...
Entry and search under a search and seizure warrant must...
In the case of an all-premises warrant, premises that are...
Premises may be entered or searched for the second or...
Entry and search under a search and seizure warrant must...
(1) Where the occupier of premises to be entered and...
A search under a search and seizure warrant may only...
Where a police or customs officer has power under section...
A police or customs officer who enters premises under a...
(1) “Prohibited item” means an item within section 69(1).
(1) Section 69(1) applies to a domestic service provider who,...
(1) Proceedings for an offence under section 69(1) may not...
(1) A service provider does not commit an offence under...
(1) A service provider does not commit an offence under...
(1) A service provider does not commit an offence under...
Minor and consequential amendments
In the Schedule to the Visiting Forces Act 1952 (offences...
(1) Section 6 of that Act (territorial scope of inchoate...
(1) Section 9 of that Act (British citizenship immaterial) is...
In section 10 of that Act, for the heading substitute...
In section 58A of the Courts and Legal Services Act...
In section 108 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995...
(1) Section 175 of that Act (right of appeal from...
In section 222 of that Act (transfer of fine orders),...
In section 63 of the Family Law Act 1996 (interpretation...
In section 71 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act...
In section 6 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002...
(1) The Schedule to the Street Offences Act 1959 (orders...
In section 12 of that Act (interest on unpaid sums),...
In section 14 of that Act (postponement), after paragraph (c)...
(1) Section 15 of that Act (effect of postponement) is...
(1) Section 19 of that Act (no order made: reconsideration...
(1) Section 20 of that Act (no order made: reconsideration...
(1) Section 21 of that Act (order made: reconsideration of...
(1) Section 22 of that Act (order made: reconsideration of...
(1) Section 31 of that Act (appeal to Court of...
In section 32 of that Act (Court of Appeal's powers...
In section 33 of that Act (appeal to Supreme Court),...
In section 50 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (meaning...
In section 35 of that Act (enforcement as fines), in...
In section 41 of that Act (restraint orders), after subsection...
(1) Section 42 of that Act (application, discharge and variation...
In section 55 of that Act (sums received by designated...
In section 89 of that Act (procedure on appeal to...
In section 92 of that Act (making of order), at...
In section 99 of that Act (postponement), after paragraph (c)...
(1) Section 100 of that Act (effect of postponement) is...
(1) Section 104 of that Act (no order made: reconsideration...
(1) Section 105 of that Act (no order made: reconsideration...
In section 30(3) of the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act...
(1) Section 106 of that Act (order made: reconsideration of...
(1) Section 107 of that Act (order made: reconsideration of...
In section 118 of that Act (application of provisions about...
(1) Section 121 of that Act (application, recall and variation)...
In section 131 of that Act (sums received by clerk...
In section 153 of that Act (satisfaction of confiscation orders),...
In section 156 of that Act (making of order), at...
In section 162 of that Act (interest on unpaid sums),...
(1) Section 181 of that Act (appeal to Court of...
In section 185 of that Act (enforcement as fines)—
In paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Senior Courts...
In section 190 of that Act (restraint orders), after subsection...
(1) Section 191 of that Act (application, discharge and variation...
In section 273 of that Act (payments in respect of...
In section 277 of that Act (consent orders: pensions), in...
In section 316 of that Act (Part 5: general interpretation),...
In section 341 of that Act (investigations), in subsection (1)...
In section 416 of that Act (other interpretative provisions), after...
(1) Section 459 of that Act (orders and regulations) is...
(1) In Schedule 2 to that Act (lifestyle offences: England...
In Schedule 10 to that Act, in paragraph 1 (disapplication...
(1) In section 18 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments...
In section 8 of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003...
In Schedule 8 to the Courts Act 2003 omit paragraph...
In section 54 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sections...
In section 78 of that Act (meaning of “sexual”), for...
(1) In section 136A of that Act (meaning of specified...
(1) Subsection (3) of that section is amended as follows....
(1) Schedule 3 to that Act (sexual offences for purposes...
In Schedule 3 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 omit...
(1) Schedule 15 to that Act (specified offences for purposes...
In each of the following provisions of the Computer Misuse...
(1) Schedule 34A to that Act (child sex offences for...
In the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 omit...
In section 175 of that Act (penalties for offences: transitional...
(1) Section 179 of that Act (extent etc) is amended...
In section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2006 (commission of...
In Schedule 2 to the Armed Forces Act 2006 (which...
In section 9 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 (right...
In section 16 of that Act (duration of orders), at...
(1) Section 19 of that Act (orders by Crown Court...
In section 21 of that Act (powers of Crown Court...
In section 3A of that Act (making, supplying or obtaining...
In section 36 of that Act (proceedings in the Crown...
(1) Schedule 1 to that Act (serious offences) is amended...
In Part 2 of Schedule 3 to that Act (offences...
In the Policing and Crime Act 2009, in the heading...
In section 35 (contents of injunctions), in subsection (2)(e), after...
In section 49 (interpretation), at the appropriate place in subsection...
In the Crime and Security Act 2010 omit section 34...
(1) Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Legal Aid,...
(1) Part 3 of that Schedule (advocacy: exclusion and exceptions)...
In the Schedule to the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud...
In section 4 of that Act (territorial scope of offences),...
In section 116 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing...
Official guidance
Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.
- GP mythbuster 80: Female genital mutilation (FGM) - Care Quality Commission (opens in a new tab) from CQC Detailed Guidance
Enforcement and responsible bodies
The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.
Home Office
PrimaryGovernment department responsible for immigration, security, and law and order. Administers UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), issues sponsor licences for employers hiring …
Police Forces
Enforce criminal law including licensing conditions (e.g. alcohol, entertainment), knife sales restrictions, and age-restricted product sales. Work with trading standards on enforcement …
Explore more
Browse legislation
Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.
Regulators
Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.