Section 16 — Collecting information for use in immigration crime

(1) A person (“P”) commits an offence if, in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (2)—

(a) P collects or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person organising or preparing for a relevant journey or part of such a journey,

(b) P possesses a document or record containing information of that kind, or

(c) P views, or otherwise accesses, by means of the internet a document or record containing information of that kind.

(2) Those circumstances are where there is a reasonable suspicion that the record or document, or any information contained in it, will be used by P or any other person in organising or preparing for a relevant journey or part of such a journey.

(3) The cases in which P collects or makes a record for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) include (but are not limited to) those in which P does so by means of the internet (whether by downloading the record or otherwise).

(4) For the purposes of this section information may be useful for a particular purpose whether or not it may also be useful to members of the public at large for any purpose.

(5) In this section “relevant journey” means a journey involving the transportation of one or more individuals from any place outside the United Kingdom to any place within the United Kingdom, where the entry of any of those individuals into the United Kingdom, or the arrival of any of those individuals in the United Kingdom, would constitute an offence under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971.

(6) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that their action or possession was for the purposes of a journey to be made only by them.

(7) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that they had a reasonable excuse for the action or possession mentioned in subsection (1).

(8) The cases in which a person has a reasonable excuse for the purposes of subsection (7) include (but are not limited to) those in which—

(a) at the time of the person’s action or possession the person did not know, and had no reason to believe, that the document or record in question contained, or was likely to contain, information of a kind likely to be useful to a person organising or preparing for a relevant journey or part of such a journey,

(b) the person’s action or possession was for the purposes of—

(i) organising or preparing for a journey other than a relevant journey,

(ii) carrying out work as a journalist,

(iii) academic research,

(iv) carrying out, or preparing for the carrying out of, a rescue of a person from danger or serious harm, or

(v) providing, or preparing for the provision of, medical care or emergency shelter or supplies, or

(c) the person was acting on behalf of an organisation which—

(i) aims to assist asylum-seekers, and

(ii) does not charge for its services.

(9) Where, in accordance with subsection (6) or (7), it is a defence for a person charged with an offence to show a particular matter, they are regarded as having shown the matter if—

(a) sufficient evidence of that matter is adduced to raise an issue with respect to it, and

(b) the contrary is not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

(10) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years.

(11) In this section “record” includes a photographic or electronic record.