Serious Organised Crime and Police Act

The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCAP), as amended by the Terrorism Act 2006, provides for the offence of criminal trespass on certain areas of land.  A number of critical Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites will be covered by this legislation either because they have been specifically designated in the interests of national security, or because they are automatically protected by virtue of being nuclear sites licensed by the Health and Safety Executive.   

Each one of the sites listed below is protected against the terrorist threat by armed security forces.  At each of the sites there has been persistent activity by protestors who, by actively trespassing, place themselves at risk of being mistaken as terrorists.  It has always been difficult for security forces protecting MOD sites to determine the difference between trespasser and potential terrorist.  This judgement has to be made in a split second and perhaps at times of limited visibility; this puts both the trespasser and member of the security force at risk.  By trespassing at these critical sites protestors divert the attention of the security forces from their primary task which temporarily increases the vulnerability of those sites to terrorist activity.  The protection of these sites under SOCAP will, by allowing the security forces to concentrate on their primary task, afford them increased security.

The area at each site where the offence of criminal trespass applies is the area within the outer perimeter of the protection provided for the site.  These perimeters will be marked with signs.  Whilst this offence will deter protestors from entering key MOD sites, it will not prevent them from protesting at those sites.  Criminal trespass will in fact ensure that protests are conducted outside of the site, thus reducing the risk to both protestors and security forces and preventing the activities of protestors being exploited by terrorists.  This offence will therefore protect the general public’s democratic right to protest by ensuring that any such protests are conducted in a safe and controlled environment.  

It is intended that all of the sites protected under SOCAP will also be covered by Military Lands Byelaws which provide a lower level of protection against unauthorised trespass and unacceptable activities at military establishments.  Byelaws regulate not only access to MOD land, but also the different range of activities that can take place on it.  They are flexible and enable the Ministry of Defence to use its land for military purposes safely and without undue interference from the public and allow the public to have access to the land when it is not being used for a military purpose.  The maximum penalty for a byelaw offence is currently a £500 fine.  Byelaws thus offer only a limited deterrent, whereas criminal trespass attracts a higher level of fine, (up to £5000) and enables the Court to award a custodial sentence of up to 51 weeks (up to one year in Scotland).  The Military Lands Byelaws and the SOCAP powers, although capable of being used independently, are mutually supportive and together provide a layered form of legal protection for the Ministry of Defence. 

The following MOD sites have been protected.  Clicking on a site name will link to a GIS plan which is provided for ease of identification of the protected area (indicated by a pink wash) only.  The line shown on the plan is not necessarily indicative of the actual line of the outer perimeter:

AWE Aldermaston

AWE Burghfield

HMNB Devonport

HMNB Clyde

RNAD Coulport

Northwood Headquarters

RAF Fylingdales

RAF Menwith Hill

RAF Croughton

RAF Lakenheath

RAF Feltwell

RAF Mildenhall

RAF Brize Norton

SMC Marchwood

RAF Fairford

RAF Welford

Examples of SOCAP Signs