HC Deb 04 May 1983 vol 42 cc354-6
Mr. Mayhew

I beg to move amendment No. 1, in page 1, line 7, leave out 'A constable may on reasonable suspicion' and insert `Subject to subsections (1A) to (1C) below, a constable may'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 3 and 5 and amendment No. 2, in page 1, line 7, leave out from `constable' to 'stolen' in line 8 and insert `may search any person or vehicle found in a public place if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person has in his possession or that the vehicle contains'.

Mr. Mayhew

These amendments achieve two purposes. First, they clarify the drafting of clause 1(1), which was criticised in Committee, and I fulfil an undertaking that I gave on that. Secondly, they honour the Government's undertaking to restrict the powers of stop and search conferred by clause 1 so that people were not liable to be searched in their gardens.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendment made: No. 3, in page 1, line 10 at end insert— '(1A) A constable may not search a person or vehicle in the exercise of the power conferred by this section unless he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that he will find stolen or prohibited articles. (1B) If a person is in a garden, yard or other premises occupied with and used for the purposes of a dwelling, a constable may not search him in the exercise of the power conferred by this section unless the constable has reasonable grounds for believing—

  1. (a) that he does not reside in the dwelling; and
  2. (b) that he is not on the premises with the express or implied permission of a person who resides in the dwelling.
(1C) if a vehicle is in a garden, yard or other premises occupied with and used for the purposes of a dwelling, a constable may not search it in the exercise of the power conferred by this section unless he has reaonable grounds for believing—
  1. (a) that the person in charge of the vehicle does not reside in the dwelling; and
  2. (b) that the vehicle is not on the premises with the express or implied permission of the person who resides in the dwelling.'.—[Mr. Mayhew.]

Mr. Mayhew

I beg to move amendment No. 4, in page 1, line 11, leave out subsection (2) and insert— `(2) A constable in uniform may require a person driving a vehicle to stop it for a search under this section.'. The amendment does two things. First, it makes a drafting amendment. We have concluded that subsection (2) as it stands is unnecessary. Secondly, the amendment makes it clear that to carry out a search of a person or vehicle under clause 1 the officer has the power, provided that he is in uniform, to require a person driving a vehicle to stop.

Mr. Snape

The Opposition regret that we were unable to persuade the Government to accept our view, strongly expressed in Committee, about officers in civilian clothes when stopping and searching. An officer wearing civilian clothes is likely to engender a hostile and suspicious reaction from the person who is stopped and searched, even bearing in mind that the officer wearing plain clothes must, under another clause in the Bill, show an identity card. We accept that the amendment has improved the clause, but we feel that we should express those reservations.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendment made: No. 5, in Page 1, line 13, leave out from 'If' to 'he' in line 14 and insert `in the course of such a search a constable discovers an article which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be stolen or prohibited article'.—[Mr. Mayhew.]

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Mr. Mayhew

I beg to move amendment No. 6, in page 2, line 1, leave out 'section' and insert 'Part of this Act'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this we are to take Government Amendment No. 8.

Mr. Mayhew

These amendments apply to the definitions of prohibited article and offensive weapon to the whole of part I, instead of, as at present, just to clause 1. This is a drafting change.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendment made: No. 8, in page 2, line 13, leave out `section' and insert 'Part of this Act' .—[Mr. Mayhew.]

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