Criminal Justice Bill 1994

[Guest onixquan]

I've been listening to the Anti EP and I'm sure you're all familiar with the backstory of the release. But what I was wondering was whether or not that part of the law was ever repealed and if so, when, what were the reasons given, and would you say the track "Flutter" played a significant role in that repeal? Any information would be appreciated.

[not_vikur]

Sections 63, 64 & 65: Raves

 

A 'rave' is defined as a gathering of 100+ people, at which amplified music ('wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats'[!) is played which is likely to cause serious distress to the local community, in the open air and at night.

 

These sections give the police the power to order people to leave the land if they're believed to be preparing to hold a rave ( 2 or more people); waiting for a rave to start (10+); actually attending a rave (10+). Ignoring this direction, or returning to the land within the next week, are both offences, liable to 3 months' imprisonment and/or a £2,500 fine.

 

Section 65 lets any uniformed constable who believes a person is on their way to a rave within a 5-mile radius to stop them and direct them away from the area - failure to comply can lead to a maximum fine of £1000.

[pylonbitch]

actually, the rave portion of the criminal justice ACT, (as it is now).. is a tiny portion of it.

 

the biggest problem with it is that it is very open to interpretation by the individual police cunts who are enforcing it.

 

a bunch of my mates got evicted from a travellers site ( decommisioned land, no owner, had been used by travellers and gypsies right back to 300 years ago...) on the basis that they had too many vehicles... the cops counted a childs bike as a vehicle, and also a rusty as fuck cassis of a 1960s car which was totally overgrown with weeds, and had been there for like twenty years or something.

 

incidentally, (and this probably won't mean anything to you if you're not scottish).. i know the only two people who have been charged under the criminal trespass in scotland act for about 200 years... the law is massively unpopular due to it's use in the highland clearances, and thus is never used, but it was the only way the courts could get these two people off that bit of land with any legal clout.

 

amusingly the name of the piece of land is the gaelic for "free land". it was decomissioned and given to the navvies as a place to camp when they were building the fort william-inverness road. it was never reclaimed, or sold, and there are no deeds for it.

 

actually, i fucking hate how ravers go on about how the act stops them partying... if they weren't so selfish and short sighted they'd see the more important features of it.. ie it stops traveller kids getting a consistent education.. it renders people homeless... it forces gypsy people to live on council provided squares of tarmac on the edges of manky council estates.. etc etc.

[Guest Jase Space]

Yeah there's way more to the CJB than just stopping people raving.

 

And as for 'Flutter' - it didn't make fuck all difference. It got a bit of press at the time, and I imagined lots of people getting together and raving to 'Flutter' and then going to court with a musicologist to prove to the pigs they weren't dancing to 'repetitive beats'. But it never really happened like that.

 

I'm guessing Autechre weren't really expecting it to have a great impact, they just wanted to highlight the absurdity of that particular clause of the CJB. Class tune as well, one of my favourites.