§ The Marquess of Ailesburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the police raided the National Sporting Club without having applied for a warrant; and if so, what purpose is served by the procedure for granting or withholding warrants.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)I am unable to comment on the individual case, which is a matter for the Commissioner of Police. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 distinguishes between circumstances in which it is necessary for a police officer to have a warrant from a justice of the peace in order to enter premises without the permission of the occupier; and those in which a warrant is not necessary. A warrant is required to enter premises for the purpose of obtaining 59WA relevant evidence where there are reasonable grounds for believing that a serious arrestable offence has been committed (S.8). Subject to certain safeguards, a warrant is not required in order to enter premises to search for and arrest someone for an arrestable offence (S.17); or to search premises for evidence relating to an arrestable offence for which the occupier is already under arrest (S.18); or, if a person has been arrested other than at a police station, to search any premises in which he was when he was arrested, or immediately before he was arrested, for evidence relating to the offence (S.32).