HOC 9/2007 Travel Restrictions on Convicted Drug Trafficking Offenders

Sections 33 to 37 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, which were implemented with effect from April 1 2002, enable the courts, as part of their sentencing, to impose travel restriction orders (TROs) on drug trafficking offenders who are sentenced to four years or more in prison. The lengths of the TROs vary and, in the case of UK nationals, can include the confiscation of passports for the period of the travel ban. The legislation applies to the United Kingdom.

It has recently been identified that information-sharing systems between the courts, the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) and the prisons have not been working effectively, which has resulted in a small number of offenders subject to TROs being released from custody at the end of their sentences without the proper measures being put in place to prevent them travelling abroad.

As a result, Home Office Circular (HOC) 9/2007 has been published to replace HOC 8/2002. It reproduces the legislative guidance of HOC 8/2002 with minor updating amendments, e.g. updating information on arrest powers, and revises the procedural guidance to tighten up the procedures to try and ensure they work more effectively.

The guidance for the courts, the IPS and the enforcing/prosecuting authorities as to the implementation of the above provisions is provided at Appendix A (legislative) and Appendix B (procedural) to the Circular.

In the guidance, references to `enforcing authorities` and, within the context of court proceedings, `prosecuting authorities`, refer in England and Wales to the police, officers of HM Revenue and Customs or the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The procedural guidance sets out that where a court has convicted a person of a drug trafficking offence, the sentencing disposal form should take its normal course with the following additional actions:

Where the court has made a travel restriction order under Section 33(2)(b), this sentencing disposal (including the length of sentence for the drug trafficking offence(s) and the length of the travel restriction order imposed) will be notified by the court to:

• The prisons (copy of the order to be attached to the custodial warrant that accompanies the offender to the receiving prison).
• The Identity and Passport Service, by sending a faxed copy of the order for it to be noted on their Passport Application Support System, known as PASS.
• The police or officers of HM Revenue & Customs or the RCPO, in their cases, to ensure that details of the travel restriction order are recorded on the Police National Computer. Thus, when such an order has been imposed, it will be recorded, together with the duration of the order, on the PNC as part of the disposal history using disposal code 3078.

For consistency, the notifications must be done on the form attached as part of the Circular; this includes the full name, place and date of birth of the offender and last known address.

The Circular also draws special attention to the following points:

• Courts should note that they are under a duty to consider the appropriateness of making a travel restriction order in relation to drug trafficking offenders who are sentenced to four years or more in prison. They also have a power to confiscate any UK passport held by the offender.
• All TRO notifications from the courts and surrendered UK passports (including those held by the police and officers of HM Revenue and Customs or the RCPO when they have no further need of them for evidential purposes, including any potential appeal proceedings or reference to the Criminal Cases Review Commission) should be sent to the IPS Operational Intelligence Unit in Glasgow, rather than to the nearest passport office, as in the earlier guidance.
• Governors of prisons and directors of contracted prisons were instructed by a letter of January 29 2007 to notify a drug trafficking offender`s a