3.2 – Police Powers – Searching Suspects and property 1 answers/police-powers-and-your-rights/getting- searched

Search Powers  Police authority to search a person is derived from two sources  Statute  Common law  Statute  Drugs poisons and controlled substances Act (s.82)  Firearms Act (s.149)  Control of weapons act (s.10(1))  Court security act (S.3(3))  Search warrant  Common Law  There is no common law power to search a person NOT arrested. The member must reasonably believe that the person is in possession of;  Property that is material evidence or other offences which may have been committed  Objects which may cause injury, damage or be used to effect an escape. 2

Police Procedures - Searches Searches Under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic.), a police officer may obtain a warrant to search premises if it is believed on reasonable grounds that the search will disclose: stolen goods, goods that might be evidence of a crime, goods that might be used in a crime, goods that might be relevant to the commission of a crime. 3 3

Police Procedures - Searches Searches Under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic.), a police officer may enter and search premises without a warrant where the police have a reasonable belief that: an indictable (serious) offence is happening, a person is escaping from legal custody, a person with a mental impairment is likely to do harm to themselves or others, illegal drugs are on the property, there has been a breach of an intervention order. 4 4

Body searches  victoria-police-get-extra-search- powers kwnh.html victoria-police-get-extra-search- powers kwnh.html If a person is arrested, the police may undertake a body search in order to find a weapon that may be concealed. Police firearm incident Police Watch house Undertaking a search also may take place in order to preserve evidence that might be used to prove an alleged offence. A search may take the form of a ‘frisk’ or ‘pat-down’ search where the person is not required to remove any inner clothing such as pants or singlet. 5

Counter Terrorism laws The Terrorism (Community Protection) Act 2003 (Vic.)  The Act gives the police search powers for limited periods or for specific occasions such as sporting events in order to protect the public from a terrorist act. (Authorised by Premier)  /tony-abbott-announces- australian-terror-threat-raised- from-medium-to-high/story- fncynjr /tony-abbott-announces- australian-terror-threat-raised- from-medium-to-high/story- fncynjr

Searching for Private Property  Victorian police may enter private property without a search warrant  for the purposes of making an arrest (serious indictable offence in Victoria)  if they believe that an offence was committed elsewhere but is a serious indictable offence under Victorian law  A person who has escaped legal custody  Person is in the process of committing a serious indictable offence such as armed robbery, rape or murder.  Specific acts of parliament such as;  Family Violence Protection Act  Some Commonwealth Offences 7

Searching Private Property Terrorism  Commonwealth and state legislation in this area but, in Victoria, police are able to search a person's home without his or her knowledge, if there is a reasonable suspicion that a terrorist act has been, or might be, committed.  A warrant from the Supreme Court must be sought before a search is undertaken and police are required to report back to the court within seven days.  NzyzJV5S_xU&feature=youtu.be NzyzJV5S_xU&feature=youtu.be 8

Searching for stolen goods Crimes Act (Vic) consol_act/ca195882/s92.html  If based on evidence that there is a reasonable belief that a person is in possession of stolen goods, a warrant to search and seize those goods may be issued by a magistrate.  A member of the police of the rank of inspector may, however, provide a constable with written authority to search premises for stolen goods in certain circumstances;  for example, if the occupant of the premises, where it is suspected that stolen goods are located, has been convicted of handling stolen goods within the past five years. 9

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