Section 4: Punishment of offences

Criminal Damage Act 1971 (1971 c. 48)

(1) A person guilty of arson under section 1 above or of an offence under section 1(2) above (whether arson or not) shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for life.

(2) A person guilty of any other offence under this Act shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.

Reproduced from legislation.gov.uk as captured on 2026-08-27. Statute is amended over time — check the source below for the version in force. This is a reference, not legal advice.

View s.4 on legislation.gov.uk

Where this section is applied on BlueLineHub

Officer reference cards that cite this provision.

Offence cards

Criminal Damage

s.3 Possessing anything with intent to destroy or damage property s.5 “Without lawful excuse.”

Source: legislation.gov.uk, Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.