PROVISIONS RELATING TO SEARCH UNDER S. I AND OTHER POWERS (Hansard, 4 May 1983)

§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Mellor)
I beg to move amendment No. 12, in page 2, line 37, at end insert `without making an arrest'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this we are to take Government amendment No. 23.

§ Mr. Mellor
This is a pure drafting amendment, which clarifies the subsection.

§ Mr. Mellor
I beg to move amendment No. 13, in page 2, line 41, after 'duty', insert ',subject to subsection (2A) below,'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 17 and 18.

§ Mr. Mellor
These amendments provide, for obvious reasons, that an officer does not have to state his name, the purpose of the search, and the grounds for undertaking it, if he is proposing to search an unattended vehicle. I hope that the logic appeals to the House.

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
Will the officer have some responsibility for making the vehicle secure after the search has taken place, if it has been necessary to force the lock of the car to make the search, and will some indication be left for the person whose car has been searched in his absence that the search has been carried out by an authorised police officer, and not merely broken into?

§ Mr. Mellor
I take the hon. Gentleman's point. Certainly the officer would be under a civil obligation to do that. It would be negligent not to do so.

§ Mr. Mellor
I beg to move amendment No. 14, in page 2, line 42, at end insert 'and the name of the police station to which he is attached'. This amendment gives effect to an undertaking that was given by my hon. and learned Friend in Committee to require a police officer proposing to undertake a search to state not only his name but also the police station to which he is attached.

§ Mr. Snape
I was under the impression—I hope that the Minister will save me the trouble of referring to the Committee Hansard—that when we discussed the matter in Committee an undertaking was given to require a police constable to give his number as well as his name, but that is not included in the amendment. Without reiterating any of the arguments that were made at some length in Committee, there is an obvious likelihood of confusion if, for example, the constable's name is Smith—to choose a name at random. Some of the debates in Committee concentrated on this aspect. We were under the impression that an undertaking was given on it. However, I concede 357 that it is helpful that the clause has been amended so that it will now be necessary for a police officer also to give the name of the station to which he is attached.
To refer to my previous example, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that there might be two Smiths at a large police station such as Paddington green. We believe that the number is essential. I must express some surprise that the undertaking which I thought was given in Committee does not appear in the clause.

§ Mr. Mellor
I understand the hon. Gentleman's point. My hon. and learned Friend said that he sympathised with the point that was being raised but saw difficulties because a different numbering system is used by different forces and therefore it might not lead to the clarity for which the hon. Gentleman was asking. As an alternative, we inserted the requirement that the name of the police station be given. Although I accept the hon. Gentleman's point, there may be circumstances in which it would not be entirely adequate. I ask him to accept that the combination of the name and station would be sufficient identification to allow the Bill's requirements to be properly observed. I hope that he will accept that we have made a genuine attempt to meet that point.

§ Mr. Mellor
I beg to move amendment No. 15, in page 3, line 1, leave out 'and'.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Paul Dean)
With this amendment it will be convenient to take Government amendment No. 16.

§ Mr. Mellor
This amendment relates to undertakings given by my hon. and learned Friend in Committee to require an officer proposing to make a search to inform the person concerned of his right to obtain a copy of the search record. It is a useful additional safeguard.

§ Mr. Snape
This amendment is to be welcomed. It was pressed for by the Opposition in Committee. We are grateful that the Home Secretary has accepted this change.

§ Mr. Mellor
I beg to move amendment No. 19, in page 3, line 5, leave out 'duties to give information imposed by this section and insert 'duty to give information imposed by subsection (1) above and the duty to produce evidence imposed by subsection (2) above'.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this it is convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 20 and 21.

§ Mr. Mellor
These amendments correct the drafting of part of clause 2 relating to the duties of officers to identify themselves and give certain information before undertaking a search. At present the relevant parts of the clause speak only of the duty to give information for the purpose of the search, whereas it should refer also to the duty to 358 produce documentary evidence that the officer is a constable. I hope that the House will accept that this clarifies the position.