The powers of the police in England and Wales are defined largely by statute law, with the main sources of power being the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Police Act 1996. This article covers the powers of police officers of territorial police forces only, but a police officer in one of the UK's special police forces (most commonly a member of the British Transport Police) can utilise extended jurisdiction powers outside of their normal jurisdiction in certain defined situations as set out in statute. In law, police powers are given to constables (both full-time and volunteer special constables). All police officers in England and Wales are "constables" in law whatever their rank. Certain police powers are also available to a limited extent to police community support officers and other non warranted positions such as police civilian investigators or designated detention officers employed by some police forces even though they are not constables.
There are several general powers constables have that normal members of the public do not, including:
The powers have various limits and generally require a clear reason for their exercise to be made known to a person subject of to one of the above powers, unless impractical due to the persons behavior or unusual circumstances.
Powers to stop and search can be extended on a limited (by place and duration) basis by legislation such as s.60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994[2] or ss.44-47 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Once a person has been arrested his/her vehicle or residence can be searched without the need for a warrant to be obtained for the purpose of obtaining evidence connected to the offence causing the arrest, as long as the offence or suspected offence was indictable. This power is provided by Section 18(1) or 18(5) and/or 32(2) of PACE 1984 depending on the circumstances. If a person is arrested in a premises or were in a premises immediately before arrest, Section 32(2) states a Constable has the power "to enter and search any premises in which he was when arrested or immediately before he was arrested for evidence relating to the offence". Constables and PCSOs also have the power under this section to search an individual for items that may assist or facilitate an escape from custody (i.e. an arrest or detention) [3] [4]
The basic powers of the police derive from the Police Act 1996, which covers attestation (section 29), jurisdiction (section 30) and a number of other matters. Day to day, common law features greatly in relation to use of force (self defence & defence of others) and a number of other areas. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 is a key piece of legislation in relation to policing which was amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, significantly, in relation to powers of arrest. Another notable piece of legislation is the Police Reform Act 2002. This act extended limited policing powers to those within the police family who are not warranted constables, such as PCSOs and others.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 identified a set of powers exclusive to constables that could not be conferred on police staff such as Police Community Support Officers. Section 28(4)(a) states a PCSO will be able to be designated with "any power or duty of a constable (other than a power or duty specified in Part 1 of Schedule 3B excluded powers and duties)". These excluded powers would be:
This bill received Royal Assent on 31 January 2017 and was subsequently passed into law.
There are three different types of detention:
Detention without arrest is only permitted in certain circumstances, and is not a generally available power as in some other jurisdictions. In addition to the power to detain during a search (as described below) a Constable may detain a person under the following provisions (other public servants are also able to use some of these powers):
| Section and Act | Purpose | Duration | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| for contempt of court | until the court rises (end of the day) | when ordered by the court | ||
| people suffering from mental disorders in a public place and in immediate need of care or control | for 72 hours | |||
| people who have absconded from detention under the Act | to return them to lawful custody | |||
| for contempt of court | until the court rises (end of the day) | when ordered by the court | ||
| for non-payment of a fine | until 8am the next morning | when ordered by the court | ||
| to determine whether a football banning order should be made | for four hours (six with permission of an Inspector) | British citizens only[6] |
Where a person is arrested for an offence, they will be taken to a police station. The custody officer at that police station must determine whether he has sufficient evidence to charge the detainee for the offence and may keep the detainee in custody until he can make this decision.[7] The suspect may be charged it the charge officer believes that there is a reasonable prospect of conviction.[8] If the Custody Officer determines that he does have sufficient evidence, he must charge the person or release him.[7] If he determines he does not have enough evidence to charge him he must release him unless he has reasonable grounds for believing that his detention without being charged is necessary to secure or preserve evidence relating to an offence for which he is under arrest or to obtain such evidence by questioning him.[7]
In terrorism cases, a person may be detained for a maximum of 28 days.[9] Otherwise (and subject to exceptions), a person may be detained for a maximum of 96 hours from the relevant time (normally the time an arrested person arrives at the first police station that he is taken to), in line with the following restrictions:
| Authorising person | Test to be applied | Requirement for review | Maximum limit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custody Officer |
| |||
| Review Officer[11] |
| 6 hours after the decision to detain or 9 hours after the last review | 24 hours from the relevant time[12] | |
| Superintendent or above |
| 36 hours from the relevant time | ||
| Magistrates' court |
| A magistrates' court can only grant or extend a warrant for up to 36 hours. | 96 hours from the relevant time |
On expiry of the time limit, the arrested person must be released, either on or without police bail and may not be rearrested without warrant for the same offence unless new evidence has come to light since the original arrest.
Following charge, a person may be detained in custody pending their trial or during their trial before sentencing.
Immediately after charge, if the detainee is not released (either on police bail or without bail), he must be brought before a magistrates' court as soon as is practicable (first appearance).[15]
The treatment of suspects held in detention is governed by Code H to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 in the case of suspects related to terrorism and by Code C in other cases. It is generally the responsibility of a designated Custody Officer to ensure that the provisions of the relevant Code and of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 are not breached.[16]
In particular, a person detained has the following rights; and must be informed of these rights at the earliest opportunity:
Some or all of these rights may be suspended in exceptional circumstances.
A Constable may enter and search any premises occupied or controlled by a person who is under arrest for an indictable offence, if they have reasonable grounds for believing that there is on the premises evidence (other than items subject to legal privilege) that relates to that offence, or to some other indictable offence which is connected with or similar to that offence.[19] This power, under section 18(1) of PACE, requires the authority of a police officer of at least the rank of Inspector and is normally conducted whilst a person is in police custody at a police station. Under PACE section 18(5), such a search of premises may be conducted prior to the arrested person being detained in police custody and prior to an authority by an Inspector if the presence of the person at a place (other than a police station) is necessary for the effective investigation of the offence. However an Inspector must be informed following such a search. This power is used much less than 18(1).
Under section 32 of PACE, a constable has the power, if a person has been arrested for an indictable offence, to enter and search any premises in which he was when arrested or immediately before s/he was arrested for evidence relating to the offence.[20]
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) was enacted to correct problems with the implementation of the powers used by the police. The "sus" law allowed police to stop, search, and subsequently arrest a "suspected person" without warrant, reason or evidence. Due to the unfair implementation of this law within the black community, there were riots in some parts of the country in majority black areas (Brixton, Handsworth, Toxteth, Southall and Moss Side) in the early 1980s and "sus" was repealed in 1981.[21] The vast majority of search powers now require "reasonable suspicion" of an offence to be present,[22] although this has not prevented stop-and-search from being used disproportionately against black people, who are over nine times more likely to be searched than white people, Asian people nearly three times more likely to be searched and BAME members in general four times more likely.[23] [24] This disparity can also be seen when looking at arrests, as a black person is over three times as likely to be arrested and the whole BAME group nearly twice as likely.[23] Constables cannot carry out "consensual" searches of a person unless a power to search exists.[25]
Before searching anyone or anything (except an unattended vehicle), a constable in plain clothes must identify himself as a constable and show his warrant card or similar, and a constable (in uniform or otherwise) must state:[26]
Before searching an unattended vehicle, a constable must leave a notice (inside the vehicle unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so without damaging the vehicle) stating:[26]
The above provisions do not apply to searches under section 6 of PACE or section 27(2) of the Aviation Security Act 1982, which both relate to vehicles leaving goods handling areas where searches are routine.[26]
A search without arrest is unlawful if it appears to the constable, after first detaining the person or vehicle, that the search is not required or it is impracticable.[26] A person or vehicle may be detained for the purposes of a search for as long as is reasonably required to permit a search to be carried out either at the place where the person or vehicle was first detained or nearby.[26] Whilst in public, a constable cannot require a person to remove any of his clothing other than an outer coat, jacket or gloves[26] (except in the case of a search under sections 43, 43A or 47A of the Terrorism Act 2000, which additionally permits the removal of footwear and headgear[27]). The powers to search are as follows:
| Section and Act | Where | What can be searched | What it/they can be searched for | Grounds for conducting the search | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animals and game | ||||||
| any highway, street, or public place | any person (or any person aiding or abetting such person) or vehicle | unlawfully obtained game, or any gun, part of gun, or nets or engines used for the killing or taking game | good cause to suspect of coming from any land where he shall have been unlawfully in search or pursuit of game | |||
| anywhere | any vehicle, animal, weapon or other thing | evidence of the commission of an offence under the Act | suspects with reasonable cause of committing or having committed an offence under the Act | |||
| anywhere | any vehicle or boat | used by a person suspected to be committing an offence under the Act | suspects with reasonable cause of committing an offence under the Act | |||
| anywhere | any person, vehicle or article | evidence of the commission of an offence under the Act, or under the Badgers Act 1973 | reasonable grounds for suspecting of committing an offence under the Act | |||
| Goods and other items | ||||||
| section 6 of the Public Stores Act 1875 | anywhere | any person, vessel, boat or vehicle | stolen government property | reason to suspect that stolen government property may be found | Metropolitan Police constables only, unless specifically authorised | |
| anywhere | any person or vehicle | controlled drugs | reasonable grounds to suspect that that person, or a person inside that vehicle, is in possession of controlled drugs | |||
| anywhere | any vehicle, vessel or non-airborne aircraft | goods which are:
| reasonable grounds to suspect the vehicle or vessel is carrying such goods | |||
| section 24B of the Aviation Security Act 1982 | any aerodrome | any person, vehicle or aircraft, or anything which is in or on a vehicle or aircraft | stolen or prohibited articles | reasonable grounds for suspecting the finding of stolen or prohibited articles | meaning of "prohibited" given by subsection (5) of that section | |
| any cargo area of an aerodrome which is a designated airport | any vehicle or aircraft and any goods carried by people (but does not include people) | general power of inspection | no need for suspicion | |||
| section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 | a public place | any person or vehicle, or anything which is in or on a vehicle |
| reasonable grounds for suspecting the finding of such items | ||
| section 7 of the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985 | anywhere | any person, public service vehicle or train | the person is committing or has committed an offence under the Act, or an offence under the Act is being committed or has been committed on the vehicle or train | reasonable grounds to suspect the person is committing or has committed an offence under the Act | offences under the Act include possession of alcohol or flares and being drunk on transport to football matches, or whilst in or attempting to enter the football ground | |
| anywhere | any vehicle used to dump waste unlawfully | general power of inspection | reasonable belief that an unlawful dumping offence has been, is being or is about to be committed | |||
| Paragraph 7A of Schedule 4 of the Police Reform Act 2002 | public place or designated zones | any person aged under 18 / any age | alcohol or a container for alcohol in his possession | the CSO reasonably believes that the person has it in his possession | only applies to PCSOs - most PRA2002 powers designate PCSOs the specific power of Constable. This paragraph failed to do so and designated the power to a PCSO only[28] However, constables have other powers to deal with circumstances where this power may be required. The power was introduced for PCSOs to ensure they had some authority to deal with incidents requiring this power.Note: Unlike most searches by constables, the person being searched must consent to the search. Failure to consent is an offence but there is no power for PCSOs to forcibly conduct the search. | |
| Paragraph 7A of Schedule 4 of the Police Reform Act 2002 | public place | any person aged under 18 | tobacco or cigarette papers in his possession | the CSO reasonably believes that the person has it in his possession | only applies to PCSOs - most PRA2002 powers designate PCSOs the specific power of Constable. This paragraph failed to do so and designated the power to a PCSO only. However, constables have other powers to deal with circumstances where this power may be required. The power was introduced for PCSOs to ensure they had some authority to deal with incidents requiring this power. Note: Unlike most searches by constables, the person being searched must consent to the search. Failure to consent is an offence but there is no power for PCSOs to forcibly conduct the search. | |
| Weapons | ||||||
| any public place | any person or vehicle | firearms or ammunition | reasonable cause to suspect of possession | |||
| anywhere other than a public place | any person or vehicle | committing or being about to commit offences under section 18 and section 20 | reasonable cause to suspect of committing or being about to commit such offences | |||
| section 4 of the Crossbows Act 1987 | anywhere | any person aged under 17 | a crossbow (or part of) | suspects with reasonable cause that a person has or has had a crossbow | does not apply where that person is or was under the supervision of a person aged 21+ | |
| section 4 of the Crossbows Act 1987 | anywhere | any vehicle | a crossbow (or part of) connected with an offence under section 3 of that Act | suspects with reasonable cause that a person under 17 has or has had a crossbow | does not apply where that person is or was under the supervision of a person aged 21+ | |
| section 139B of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 | school premises | the premises and any person on them | offensive weapons or objects with blades or sharp points | reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person has or has had such an item on the premises | ||
| anywhere specified by an authorisation | any pedestrian (or anything carried by him) and any vehicle, its driver and any passenger | offensive weapons or objects with blades or sharp points | if an authorisation has been given under that section (no need for suspicion) | |||
| Terrorism | ||||||
| section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000 | anywhere | any person | evidence that that person is a terrorist (defined by section 40) | reasonably suspects that person to be a terrorist | ||
| section 43A of the Terrorism Act 2000 | anywhere | a vehicle (including the driver of the vehicle, a passenger in the vehicle, anything in or on the vehicle or carried by the driver or a passenger) | evidence that:
| reasonably suspects that the vehicle is being used for the purposes of terrorism | ||
| section 47A of the Terrorism Act 2000 | anywhere specified by an authorisation | a vehicle (including the driver of the vehicle, a passenger in the vehicle, anything in or on the vehicle or carried by the driver or a passenger) or a pedestrian (and anything carried by the pedestrian) | evidence that:
| if an authorisation has been given under that section (no need for suspicion) | ||
A Constable may search a person who has been arrested (unless the arrest was at a police station) if the Constable has reasonable grounds for believing that the arrested person may present a danger to himself or others.[20] A Constable may also (unless the arrest was at a police station) search an arrested person for anything which he might use to assist him to escape from lawful custody, or which might be evidence relating to an offence.[20]
This power is given to both Constables and PCSOs by Section 32 of the Police and Criminal Evidence act 1984.
A Constable may search a person arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to discover whether he has in his possession anything which may constitute evidence that he is a terrorist (defined by section 40).[29]
The Custody Officer must record everything which an arrested person has with him at the police station and may search a person to the extent that he considers it necessary to do so, but may not conduct an intimate search for these purposes. The Custody Officer may seize anything, but may only seize clothes or personal effects if the Custody Officer:[30]
An Inspector also has a limited power to order a search of an arrested person in order to facilitate establishing the identity of a person, particularly by discovering tattoos or other marks.[31] Where such a search requires more than the removal of the arrested person's outer clothing, the provisions of Code C to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 relating to strip searches apply.
An intimate search is a search of the bodily orifices (other than the mouth). It should be conducted by a suitably qualified person unless this is impracticable and done in the presence of two other people. An intimate search requires the authorisation of an inspector and may only be made in one of the following circumstances:[32]
| Condition | Consent | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|
The inspector reasonably believes
| Consent is not necessary for the search to take place and reasonable force may be used to conduct the search. | Police station, hospital, surgery or other medical premises. | |
The inspector reasonably believes
| Consent for the search is necessary. If the detainee refuses to give consent, proper inferences may be drawn but force may not be used. | Hospital, surgery or other medical premises. |
"Stop and account"[33] is a standard operating procedure, rather than a power, of the police, under Recommendation 61 (Rec.61); it is not a statutory procedure like stop and search. It applies to people on foot in a public place. There is no power to force a person to stop, or to detain them. The decision to "request" a person to "stop and account" is left to the discretion of the individual officer; there is no guidance on this. Unlike stop and search, there is no requirement for "reasonable suspicion". There is no actual requirement on a police officer, beyond identifying themself as such; no need to tell the persons stopped why they are being asked to account for themselves, or to say that they are free to leave without answering questions.[34] However, police forces have procedures governing stops. While a record must be made of every stop, there is no requirement for police forces to keep statistics on number of stops or ethnicity of people stopped, according to the College of Policing.
Advice to the public on the West Midlands Police website explains:[34]
Different police forces have different documents, and forms for recording stops. According to the Metropolitan Police the documented stop and account procedure was recommended after the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry found that stopping people informally, as had been the usual procedure, "created a barrier between the police and the community. These stops were not monitored and no records were kept."[33] The Home Office said in 2013 that stop and account was not a defined power set out in primary legislation, but an "important part of on-street policing. ... It constitutes the next step beyond the general conversations officers have with members of the public every day."[35]
The main power of seizure a constable (and PCSO also since 2012) has is provided by Section 19 of PACE 1984.[36] This provides a general power of seizure for anything that has he/she has reasonable grounds for believing was obtained during the commission of an offence and that the seizure is necessary to stop it being concealed, lost, damaged or destroyed. The same section also provides a power of seizure of items suspected to be evidence of an offence.
Other powers also exist, such as customs powers which provide a Constable, Customs Officer or any member of HM Armed Forces or Coastguard the ability to seize, retain and condemn goods under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979[37]
See also: Right to silence in England and Wales. The only powers of detention that are available to a Constable in England and Wales are discussed above. A Constable's power of arrest is provided by the following sources:
Whether being arrested, detained or spoken to about an offence or suspected offence, Section 10 Code C of PACE states that the caution must be used.[39] When used in conjunction with an arrest the suspect:
A person must be "cautioned" when being arrested unless this is impractical due to the behaviour or condition of the arrestee, such as drunkenness or unresponsive. There is also a requirement to caution an individual when they are also suspected of a criminal offence but are not being subject to arrest at that time. The caution is:
You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you may later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.[44]Deviation from this accepted form is permitted provided that the same information is conveyed. There also exists the "when" caution (above), "now" caution and a "restricted" caution.[45] [46] The "when" caution is generally used during an arrest or interview on the street or at a police station. The "now" caution is most commonly used when charging or issuing an FPN or PND.
Persons other than constables "who are charged with the duty of investigating offences or charging offenders" (e.g. escort officers, detention officers, DWP fraud investigators, PCSOs, IPCC investigators, etc.) have a duty to adhere to any relevant provisions of the codes of practice as per Section 67(9) PACE.[47]
There are three general means of arresting without warrant: firstly in relation to a criminal offence, secondly in relation to a breach of the peace and thirdly for miscellaneous purposes.
Prior to 1967, the only general power of arrest for offences was that which existed for felonies.[48] In 1964, Home Secretary Rab Butler asked the Criminal Law Revision Committee to look into the distinction between felonies and misdemeanours, and their recommendation was that the distinction be abolished, as it was obsolete. As most powers of arrest relied on the offence being a felony, a new set of arrest criteria were introduced by the Criminal Law Act 1967, which created the arrestable offence (defined as an offence where an adult could be sentenced to imprisonment for five years or more).
These arrest powers were later re-enacted by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), which also created an alternative set of arrest criteria (the "general arrest criteria") which applied in particular circumstances, such as where the person's name or address were not known. As time went on, the number of offences that were defined as "arrestable" grew significantly, to the point where the distinction was becoming confusing and unworkable.
In 2005, the PACE powers of arrest were repealed by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, which also abolished the arrestable offence and instead replaced it with a need-tested system for arrest which applied to every offence.
A constable may therefore arrest (without a warrant):[49]
Additionally, if a constable suspects that an offence has been committed, then:[49]
Under Code G of PACE,[42] [43] a constable may only use the powers of arrest given above:[49]
(a) to enable the name of the person in question to be ascertained (in the case where the constable does not know, and cannot readily ascertain, the person's name, or has reasonable grounds for doubting whether a name given by the person as his name is his real name),
(b) correspondingly as regards the person's address,
(c) to prevent the person in question:
(d) to protect a child or other vulnerable person from the person in question,
(e) to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence or of the conduct of the person in question:
(f) or to prevent any prosecution for the offence from being hindered by the disappearance of the person in question.
Notes 2A to 2J provide further clarification on the above:[43] [42] In relation to (a) above, where mobile fingerprinting is available and the suspect's name cannot be ascertained/is in doubt, consideration should be given using the power under 61(6A) of PACE (Code D para. 4.3(e)) to take and check the fingerprints of a suspect as this may avoid the need to arrest solely to enable a name to be ascertained.[43]
In the instances above of being unable to ascertain name/address, causing physical injury to himself or other person, offences against public decency, obstruction of the highway, note 2D of Code G states that a warning should be considered before arrest in order to perhaps avoid the arrest or in order to clarify the justification for arrest by way of demonstrating the intent to commit the crime and therefore rebut any defence that they were acting reasonably.[43]
The meaning of "prompt" under the "prompt and effective investigation" is held to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and consideration should be given to street bailing the suspect rather than arresting them. Released on bail criteria are covered partly under 30A of PACE.[50]
Voluntary attendance at a police station at a later date negates the need to arrest for the prompt and effective investigation when there is no suggestion that the suspect will not attend and if the suspect's name/address can be ascertained.[42] When the person attends the police station for a voluntary interview, their arrest on arrival at the station prior to interview would only be justified if new information came to light after arrangements were made indicates that from that time, voluntary attendance ceased to be a practicable alternative and the person's arrest became necessary and it was not reasonably practicable for the person to be arrested before they attended the station.[42] [43]
If a person who attends for a voluntary interview decides to leave before the interview is complete, the police would at that point be entitled to consider whether their arrest was necessary to carry out the interview. The possibility that the person might decide to leave during the interview is therefore not a valid reason for arresting them before the interview has commenced. See Code C paragraph 3.16[43]
Section 29(a) PACE states a person attending a police station or other place for a voluntary attendance is free to leave at any time unless he/she is placed under arrest.[51] They are also to be immediately informed they are under arrest if a decision is made to arrest them to prevent them from leaving by the constable.[51]
The necessity test has been held to have been incorrectly applied in the following instances, which are therefore unlawful arrests: Richardson v Chief Constable of West Midlands Police (2011),[52] Alexander, Farrelly et al. judicial review (2009).[53]
Section 30 of PACE states that any person arrested in a place other than a police station must be taken to a police station as soon as practicable after the arrest.[54] This section also states that if at any time before reaching the police station, a constable is satisfied there are no grounds for keeping that person under arrest, they must be released without bail immediately and a record of this must be made.[54] This section does not state that the original constable should release the individual if they become satisfied there is no reason to hold the suspect, but the section states that "a Constable" may become satisfied, which suggests that this may be a different constable than who made the original arrest.[54]
When an offender is arrested and later released, bail conditions are often applied under Section 30(1) of PACE, which state the constable may impose bail conditions which as appear to the constable to be necessary:
Although not part of the Codes of Practice as such, PACE itself does outlaw certain other practices, such as:
Breach of the peace is one of the oldest, and most basic offences still in existence in England & Wales. It is an offence at common law, not codified, so it cannot be found in any act of Parliament. The power of arrest in relation to breach of the peace is available to anyone (regardless of whether they are a constable or not), who may arrest without warrant:
However, the Court of Appeal laid down the following conditions:
There are few powers of arrest without warrant where an offence is not either known or suspected to have been committed. A constable may arrest a person:
who has deserted or is absent without leave,
A constable's power to use reasonable force is provided by the following law / statutory instruments:
Common law has most recently affirmed the use of force in Beckford v R (1987), in which Lord Griffiths affirmed that "the test to be applied for self-defence is that a person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances as he honestly believes them to be in the defence of himself or another".[86] A more general explanation of what is reasonable was also made four years prior in 1984 under Collins v. Wilcock (1984) 1 WLR 1172 DC, which stated that a Constable may use force not otherwise covered by legislation or other law if it they "had been acting within the bounds of what was generally acceptable in the ordinary conduct of daily life".[87]
The European Convention on Human Rights 1953 further states:
"2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:
a. in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
b. in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;
c. in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection."
The Criminal Law Act 1967 allows any person to use reasonable force in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, effecting or assisting the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large.[88]
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 provides a power for a Constable to use reasonable force when they are lawfully using a power under the same act.[89]
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 further clarified the use of force as per the above, but also reiterated force may still be reasonable if it was influenced by an honestly held, albeit mistaken belief.[90]
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 gives a Constable the power to enter a school premises and search those premises and any person for offensive weapons, allowing them to use reasonable force if necessary to do so.
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 gives a Constable power to use reasonable force, "if necessary", in order to search and seize relevant articles in a school or further education premises for "corrosive substances".
A constable has a right of entry to private land in three broad circumstances: by consent, without consent, and without consent and by force.[91]
In English law, "consent" in relation to trespass includes situations where a licence (i.e. permission to enter onto land) is implied without having to be explicitly stated: for example, walking through a private garden to reach the front door of a house for the purpose of delivering a letter. Where consent has not been granted by the occupier, entry without consent may be exercised where a search warrant has been issued, or in other specific circumstances where the matter is urgent or serious, and the power has been specifically granted by law. The police have the power to use reasonable force to enter under a warrant, and under the other powers of entry discussed below.
There are known to be around 900 provisions in law under which search warrants may be issued. Typically, these permit a police officer and/or other official (typically a council officer, or an officer of a government department) to enter and search premises, using force if necessary, and seize evidence. These are generally issued by a justice of the peace following a written application stating the reasons for entering. As a general rule, search warrants are only issued where access cannot be gained by consent, or where attempting to gain consent might lead to evidence being destroyed, etc.[92]
Other than with a search warrant, a constable may enter premises only in specific circumstances, almost all of which are listed in section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ("PACE"), which largely codified and replaced the historic common law provisions as to entry and search. In addition to powers under section 17 PACE, a small number of other Acts provide a power of entry (and search) without a warrant.
Where a power to enter and search for the purpose of arresting or recapturing a person comes from section 17 PACE, it is only exercisable if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that the person whom he is seeking is on the premises.[93] "Reasonable belief" is a higher threshold than that required to arrest a person, which only requires "reasonable suspicion". Therefore, there must be some fact that causes the constable to believe that the person in question is present at the time - for example, seeing a person present who matches their description, or being told that they are present.
A power to enter and search under section 17 for the purpose of arresting or recapturing a person is also limited, in relation to premises consisting of two or more separate dwellings, to entering and searching common areas (such as shared hallways, landings and stairways) and the dwelling in question, but not other dwellings in the same premises.
The power of search conferred by section 17 is only a power to search to the extent that is reasonably required for the purpose for which the power of entry is exercised. Therefore, a power to search for a person who is wanted would not include a power to search for evidence of the offence for which they are wanted. However, as the constable would be lawfully on the premises, if he were to come across such evidence in his search for the person it could still be seized under section 19 of PACE, and should the constable find and arrest the person who is wanted, he could then search the premises for evidence of the offence.
PACE defines "premises" as including any place and, in particular, includes any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft, an offshore installation (such as an oil rig), a renewable energy installation (such as a wind turbine), and a tent or movable structure.[94]