Prison Act 1877

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.

Background 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.Fox, pp.47-8.

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.

Subsequent developments Sections 22, 23, 35, 36, 52, 53 and 55 of the act were repealed by section 1(1) of, and the first schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1950 (14 Geo. 6. c. 6), which came into force on 23 May 1950.

The whole act was repealed by section 54(2) of, and part I of the fourth schedule to, the Prison Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2.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), which came into force on 1 October 1952.

Prison Act 1877

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