New South Wales Consolidated Acts

SHERIFF ACT 2005 - SECT 10

10 Wearing or possession of sheriff's officer uniforms by others

(1) A person (not being a sheriff's officer) who wears or possesses a sheriff's officer uniform is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

(2) A person (including a sheriff's officer) who uses sheriff's insignia otherwise than in the course of, and for the purpose of, exercising the functions of a sheriff's officer is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

(3) A person is not guilty of an offence under this section if--

(a) the act or omission constituting the offence is authorised by the regulations or by a licence granted to the person by the Sheriff, or

(b) the person establishes that the person otherwise had the permission of the Sheriff for the act or omission, or

(c) the person establishes that the person had a reasonable excuse for the act or omission.

(4) Without limiting subsection (3), a person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (1) if the person wore or was in possession of the sheriff's officer uniform for the purposes of public entertainment.

(5) The Sheriff may grant licences for the purposes of this section, with or without conditions, and may vary or revoke any such licences.

(6) In this section--

"sheriff's insignia" means--

(a) any items (being insignia, emblems, logos, devices, accoutrements and other things) that are generally recognised as pertaining to the Sheriff or as being used by sheriff's officers, or

(b) any parts of any such items, or

(c) any reasonable imitation of any such items or parts, or

(d) any thing or class of thing prescribed by the regulations as being within this definition (whether or not it may already be within this definition),

and includes sheriff's officer uniforms, but does not include any thing or class of thing prescribed by the regulations as being outside this definition.

"sheriff's officer uniform" means the uniform of a sheriff's officer, and includes--

(a) any parts of such a uniform (or any accoutrements of a sheriff's officer) that are generally recognised as parts of the uniform or accoutrements of a sheriff's officer, or

(b) any reasonable imitation of such a uniform, parts of a uniform or accoutrements.

"use" of sheriff's insignia includes use of a reproduction or representation of sheriff's insignia.