Summary Offences Exam PDF

::: {.Definition} ***night-time*** means the interval between 9 o\'clock in the evening and 6 o\'clock in the morning. ::: {.Definition} ***Police Force*** means the Police Force of the Northern Territory. ::: ::: {.Definition} ***public place*** or ***place of public resort*** includes: ::: \(a)...

::: {.Definition} ***night-time*** means the interval between 9 o\'clock in the evening and 6 o\'clock in the morning. ::: {.Definition} ***Police Force*** means the Police Force of the Northern Territory. ::: ::: {.Definition} ***public place*** or ***place of public resort*** includes: ::: \(a) every place to which free access is permitted to the public, with the express or tacit consent of the owner or occupier thereof; and \(b) every place to which the public are admitted on payment of money, the test of the admittance being the payment of the money only; and \(c) every road, street, footway, court, alley or thoroughfare which the public are allowed to use, notwithstanding that the road, street, footway, court, alley or thoroughfare may be formed on private property. ::: {.Definition} ***undue noise*** means any noise that causes unreasonable distress, annoyance or irritation to any person by reason of its level or character or the time at which it is made. ::: 47 Offensive, &c., conduct Every person who is guilty: \(a) of any riotous, offensive, disorderly or indecent behaviour, or of fighting, or using obscene language, in or within the hearing or view of any person in any road, street, thoroughfare or public place; \(b) of disturbing the public peace; \(c) of any riotous, offensive, disorderly or indecent behaviour in any police station; \(d) of offensive behaviour in or about a dwelling house, dressing-room, training-shed or clubhouse; \(e) of unreasonably causing substantial annoyance to another person; or \(f) of unreasonably disrupting the privacy of another person, shall be guilty of an offence. Penalty: \$2,000 or imprisonment for 6 months, or both. 47A Loitering -- general offence \(1) A person loitering in any public place who does not give a satisfactory account of himself when requested so to do by a member of the Police Force shall, on request by a member of the Police Force to cease loitering, cease so to loiter. Penalty: \$2,000 or imprisonment for 6 months, or both. \(2) Where a person is loitering in a public place and a member of the Police Force believes, on reasonable grounds  \(a) that an offence has been or is likely to be committed; or \(b) that the movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic is obstructed or is about to be obstructed, by that person or by any other person loitering in the vicinity of that person; \(c) that the safety of the person or any person in his vicinity is in danger; or \(d) that the person is interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of other persons using the public place for the purpose or purposes for which it was intended, the member of the Police Force may require any person so loitering to cease loitering and to remove from that public place any article under his control, and a person so required shall comply with and shall not contravene the requirement. Penalty: \$2,000 or imprisonment for 6 months, or both. 47B Loitering -- offence following notice \(1) A police officer may give a written notice to a person who is loitering at a public place: \(a) requiring the person to stay away from the place or an area including the place for a specified period not exceed 72 hours from the time the notice is given; and \(b) specifying the place or area, and the period, as is reasonable in the circumstances; and \(c) specifying the consequences of contravening the notice. \(2) The officer may do so only if the officer reasonably suspects: \(a) the person has committed, or is about to commit, an offence at the place or in the area; or \(b) the person is part of a group of people at the place and one or more people in the group have committed or are about to commit an offence at the place or in the area. \(4) The person is guilty of an offence if: \(a) the officer gives the person the notice; and \(b) the person contravenes the notice. Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months. \(5) It is a defence for an offence against subsection (4) if the defendant proves that the defendant has a reasonable excuse. \(6) The officer must ensure all reasonable steps are taken to explain to the person (in language the person can readily understand) the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c). \(7) The notice is not invalidated by a failure to comply with subsection (6). 53A Undue noise at social gathering after midnight \(1) A member of the Police Force may, in response to a complaint from a person that undue noise is coming from any premises or part of premises where a social gathering is being held, being a complaint in respect of noise made after midnight on any night and where he considers that such noise constitutes undue noise, direct: \(a) the person who is the occupier of the premises or part of the premises, as the case may be; or \(b) if that person cannot be ascertained, the person responsible for the noise or in charge of the property producing the noise, to stop or abate the noise. \(2) Where, at any time during the period of 12 hours immediately after a person has been directed under subsection (1) to stop or abate undue noise (other than the period of 10 minutes after the direction is given), undue noise comes from the premises or part of the premises in respect of which the complaint was made, the person to whom the direction was given is guilty of an offence. Penalty: \$2,000. 53B Undue noise \(1) A member of the Police Force may, in response to a complaint from a person that undue noise is coming from any premises or part of premises and where he considers that such noise constitutes undue noise, direct: \(a) the person making or causing or permitting the noise to be made; or \(b) the person apparently at the time in charge of the premises or part of the premises, as the case may be, to stop or abate the noise. \(2) A member of the Police Force may, in response to a complaint from a person that undue noise is coming from any unoccupied land and where he considers that such noise constitutes undue noise, direct the person making the noise or causing or permitting the noise to be made to stop or abate the noise. (2A) A direction under subsection (1) or (2): \(a) may be given by reference to a period of hours during which, or specific times when, the noise is to be stopped or abated; and \(b) in any event, shall remain in force for not more than 48 hours. \(3) A person who has been directed under subsection (1) or (2) to stop or abate undue noise and who, other than during the period of 10 minutes immediately after being so directed: \(a) continues to make the noise or continues to cause or permit the noise to be made; or \(b) does not abate the noise, in contravention of the direction is guilty of an offence. Penalty: \$2,000. 53C Certificate of member of Police Force to be evidence In a prosecution for an offence against section 53A or 53B a certificate by a member of the Police Force stating that a complaint of a kind referred to in those sections had, at a specified time and on a specified date, been made is prima facie evidence of the matters stated in the certificate. 53D Noise abatement orders \(1) Where a person occupying premises makes a complaint to a justice of the peace alleging that his occupation of those premises is affected by undue noise, the justice of the peace may issue a summons for the appearance before the Local Court of the person who is: \(a) alleged to be making or causing or permitting the noise to be made; or \(b) the occupier or person apparently in charge of the premises or part of the premises from which the noise is alleged to be emitted. \(2) If the Court is satisfied that an alleged undue noise exists, or that although abated it is likely to recur on the same premises or part of the premises, the Court may, where it finds that such noise is not justified in the circumstances, make an order directing the person summoned under subsection (1) to stop or abate the noise or to confine the making of the noise to within such hours as the Court may fix and the Court may, in making the order, impose such other conditions as it thinks fit. \(3) A person shall not contravene or fail to comply with an order made under subsection (2). Penalty: \$2,000. \(4) Where: \(a) a direction has been given under section 53A or 53B; and \(b) a member is satisfied that another person requires the name and address of the person to whom the direction was given for the purposes of making a complaint under subsection (1) in respect of that person or instituting any civil suit or proceeding in respect of the noise the subject of the direction, the member may provide the other person with the name and address of the person to whom the direction was given. \(5) Where the Court makes an order under subsection (2), the Court may order the defendant to pay to the complainant such costs as it thinks fit. \(6) Where the Court refuses to make an order under subsection (2), the Court shall not award costs against the complainant unless the Court is satisfied that the complaint made was vexatious or unreasonable. 53E Powers of police \(1) For the purposes of giving a direction under section 53A or 53B, a member of the Police Force may enter the premises or the part of the premises from which the noise is coming together with such assistance and using such force as the member considers reasonable for the purpose. \(2) A member of the Police Force who enters premises or a part of premises under this section may require a person in the premises or the part to answer a question asked for the purpose of identifying the occupier of the premises or the part or the person responsible for the noise or in charge of the property that is producing the noise. \(3) A person asked a question under subsection (2) shall not refuse or fail to answer the question to the best of his knowledge or belief. Penalty: \$200. 75A Dangerous dogs \(1) In this section, a reference to the owner of a dog includes: \(a) the person for the time being under whose control the dog is; and \(b) the occupier of premises or a part of premises where the dog is usually kept; and \(c) where the owner has not attained the age of 17 years, a parent or guardian of the owner, but does not include an authorised person, as defined in section 7 of the *Local Government Act 2019*, a member of the Police Force or a person at a pound controlling or keeping a dog in accordance with a by-law of a local government council. \(2) The owner of a dog that: \(a) attacks a person or animal; or \(b) menaces a person or animal, is guilty of an offence. Penalty: \$5,000. \(3) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (2) if the owner of the dog proves that: \(a) a person had, without the owner\'s permission, enticed the dog to attack or menace the person or animal; \(b) the animal attacked or menaced was attacked or menaced on premises owned or occupied by the owner; or \(c) the person attacked or menaced was attacked or menaced on premises owned or occupied by the owner and the person: \(i) was on the premises for an illegal purpose; or \(ii) was attacked or menaced other than when proceeding by the shortest practical route from a boundary of the premises to the door of the premises closest to the boundary or from the door to the boundary. \(4) A person shall not entice or induce a dog to act in a manner that would render the owner of the dog liable to prosecution for an offence against subsection (2). Penalty: \$5,000. \(5) Where a court finds a person guilty of an offence against subsection (2), it may: \(a) order the destruction of the dog in addition to or instead of the penalty specified in that subsection; and/or \(b) order the person to pay the costs and expenses of and incidental to the impounding of the dog. \(6) Where a member of the Police Force believes, on reasonable grounds, that a dog has or may cause serious injury to a person or animal, the member may seize, impound or destroy the dog and for that purpose may enter onto any land (including land that is not open to or used by the public) with or without the consent of the occupier or owner, or a warrant. :::