CODE A PACE 1984 Flashcards
Purpose of Stop and Search
To enable officers to allay or confirm suspicions about individuals without exercising their power of arrest.
What must an officer have in order to carry out a stop search?
Reasonable grounds to believe that the person they are stopping and detaining has been involved in a criminal activity, is about to be involved or is in possession of a prohibited article
Why was the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 introduced?
To tackle the alarming trend of using corrosive substances to attack people. (e.g. ACID)
How many stop search powers are there?
19
Which stop and search power does not need reasonable grounds?
s. 60 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994
Possible justification for applying handcuffs when stop and searching someone?
Individual’s behavior (resisting, aggressive), the item looking for (knife, weapon)
Definition of a public place
Anywhere the public or any section of the public has access, on payment or otherwise, as of right or by virtue of express or implied permission
Definition of private place
Land or premises which are privately owned to which the general public does not have ready access.
What is PREMISES under s. 23 Misuse of Drugs Act?
Includes vehicles, vessels, aircraft, hovercraft, offshore installations, renewable energy installations, tents and other moveable structures.
The grounds for reasonable suspicion have two parts:
- A genuine suspicion in the mind of the officer that he/she will find the object for which the power of search is being used.
- The suspicion must be reasonable, formed on an objective basis from facts, information, and/or intelligence which help make it likely that the object will be found, and that a reasonable person would also draw the same conclusions.
Grounds for a search can stem from:
- person’s behavior, location, time of day
- intelligence about the area, the particular person, the vehicle they are driving, or from speaking to members of the public
Refusing to answer any questions can be used to provide reasonable grounds for suspicion. True or False?
False
Grounds can be established retrospectively. True or False?
False
Is it necessary for searching officer to have reasonable suspicion that each and every member of the group is in possession of a prohibited item before carrying out a search of an individual from that group? (if there is intelligence that people may be carrying weapons at a protest)
No.
What is s. 2 of PACE?
GO WISELY
What does GO WISELY stand for?
G – Grounds of the suspicion of the search (Circumstances of the search. Why?)
O – Object/Purpose of the search (What are you looking for?)
W – Warrant card (If the officer is in plain clothes)
I – Identity of the officer
S – Station to which the officer is attached
E – Entitlement to a copy of the search record
L – Legal power used (s. 1 PACE)
Y – “You are detained for the purposes of a search”
If you are searching someone under s.23 and you find a knife. Which power are you searching under?
s. 23
Which legislation is reasonable force during stop search?
s. 117 PACE 1984
When conducting a search in public, an officer can’t do the following:
A) Place his/her hands inside the pockets of outer clothing
B) Feel round the inside of collars, socks and shoes
C) Search a person’s hair and require the removal of headgear
D) Require the person to remove his/her outer coat, jacket and gloves
C) Search a person’s hair and require the removal of headgear
The officer can search the hair IF that does NOT require the removal of headgear
The person cannot be required to remove any further clothing in public, but he can be asked to remove more clothing voluntarily. True or False
True.
If he/she refuses the officer has no grounds to insist
If anything beyond an outer coat, jacket, gloves, headgear or footwear is removed, the searching officer and any other officers present must be of the same sex. True or False
True
A search that exposes the intimate parts of the body can be carried out if nothing was found during JOG search. True or False
False.
Only if necessary. The officer must have reasonable grounds to suspect that the person has concealed items in his/her clothes
Should the individual refuse to give his details, a record of the search will not be made. True or False
False
A record of the search has to be made within 24 hours.
If an unattended vehicle is searched a record does not need to be made. True or False
False
A copy of the search record should be left within the vehicle, or outside if locked.
Any request of a copy of a search record must be made within three months of the search. True or False
True
During an intimate search at no point should the person be completely undressed. Examinations are only visual. no touching. All items seized should be photographed and exhibited. True or False
True
