A crucial part of being a citizen is understanding your rights. At Murray Hughman, we consider it to be extremely important to help empower people in this way.
The unfortunate fact is that anyone can find themselves caught up in the criminal justice system.
One of the most common ways this can happen is being subjected to a stop and search by the police.
This process can be very stressful but knowing your rights may help to alleviate some of the anxieties for anyone finding themselves in this position.
The first thing to remember is not to panic. Although you may feel, at the very least, put out by the situation, panicking, or worse, overreacting can often only exacerbate matters
Before moving on to the process of the search, you should also know the different types of searches the police are allowed to conduct –
- Suspicion based search – this one is fairly straightforward and will apply in the majority of stop and search situations Police can conduct a search if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that you are carrying a prohibited item (such as a weapon or drugs) or items of stolen property or items that could be used in order to commit certain offences such as theft, fraud, criminal damage.
- Suspicion-less search – the main point of difference between this type of search is the police do not require reasonable suspicion to exercise this power. This power comes from Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Section 60 searches are only to be carried by a uniformed police officer, with the authorisation of a senior police officer with the rank of inspector or higher. The senior officer must reasonably believe that people in the area are carrying weapons without good reason, incidents of serious violence may take place in the area or that an incident of serious violence has taken place in the area and the weapon used is still being carried in the area.
It is important to note that when a S60 authorisation is put in place (allowing searches to take place in the circumstances described above without there being ‘reasonable suspicion’) it will always be limited to a specific area e.g a group of streets and or within a radius of a certain point. When a S60 authorisation has been provided it can only be put in place for 24 hours (although can be extended again for a further 24 hours if necessary).
The whole point of S60 stop and searches being authorised in a specific area is to keep people in that area safe and the power does not remain in place once the time period relating to the authorisation has expired. I think it is also useful to know the process of the search itself. When conducting a stop and search, the police follow a process that is contained in the acronym GOWISELY (please note that the following does not have to be in order, but it does have to be complete) –
- G – This stands for Grounds. The officer conducting the search (in suspicion based searches) is obliged to provide you with at least basic information about why you are being searched. If this does not occur, calmly request it.
- O – This stands for Object. The police must make clear to you what they are actually looking for during their search.
- W/I – This stands for Warrant/Identity. Unless in full uniform, police officers must show you their warrant card. At this point it is important to note that even a plain-clothed officer may conduct a search, provided they identify themselves.
- S – This stands for Station. It is the duty of the police to let you know which station they work for.
- E – This stands for Entitlement. This relates to your right to receive the written record of the search. This is called the 5090 (A). This is a written record or a receipt detailing the reason you were stopped and searched, and the officer who stopped you.
- L – This stands for Legal Power. It is the duty of the police to provide you with information about the legal powers under which the police are acting in conducting this search.
- Y – This stands for You are being detained. The police must explain to you that you are being detained under the law for the purposes of a search. It is useful to ask “am I being detained” if this is not directly stated by the officer. If the answer is no, then you have no legal obligation to submit to the search.
All of this should be conducted in a timely manner, with your detention time being kept to a minimum. Some searches will take longer than others, it is important to remain as calm as you can. If you are being kept for what you feel is an unnecessarily long time, express these concerns to the officer.
This is a basic outline of how and why searches occur that will hold you in good stead if you are ever searched.
