Reading many answers on here it makes me smile the amount of people who believe the police need a warrant to enter a property (applies to UK only). If they have a belief that either a wanted person/person suspected of comitting an offence/stolen property immediately having been left or that they need to enter to protect life or limb then they may enter without a warrant under powers afforded under PACE 1984. With someone in custody for a theft offence they can still enter a property without a warrant to search for stolen goods. A warrant is only needed for pre planned things and not all the time. Is it people's over belief in that everything you see on tv is true and that the UK is the same as the US?
2007-10-01 05:17:53 · 24 answers · asked by footie 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
nr_wh, pre thatcher the police could do even more, PACE was a bit restrictive to them!!!
2007-10-01 05:36:53 · update #1
ScaryMary, I suggest you read the question, it will avail you of the times the police can do just that without a warrant. If they have cause, and they can, and you don't let them in you will have one very messy front door which you will have to pay the repairs for!
2007-10-01 05:38:51 · update #2
perhaps citizens had rights prior to Thatcher
2007-10-01 05:22:45 · answer #1 · answered by mr_fartson 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Police can enter a premises without a warrant in a number of different situations. Examples include: deal with a breach of the peace or prevent it enforce an arrest warrant arrest a person in connection with certain offences recapture someone who has escaped from custody save life or prevent serious damage to property. If while doing a search they come across something which they believe may either be conected or part of a different crime then they may well ask the home owner for an account and still remove the item for further investigation, in other words the police may be conducting a search for drugs and whilst doing this they come across various items of different identifications then they will probably seize this because its suspicious and may also be connected to the drugs. Because you have omitted what the "offense" was your neighbour was beind searched for i cannot give you a scenario
2016-05-18 01:09:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It’s because most people do not have a clue about the law, anywhere! A search warrant is not needed in the USA to enter private property under many of the same circumstances as you describe in the UK, to preserve life, reasonable belief in the commission of a felony on the property, hot pursuit, and other justifications. But yes the UK, and most of the rest of the world have greater police powers than in the USA, but the USA makes most of the movies and TV cops shows (and gets it wrong about American cops, laws, and right all the time). So it’s no wonder most of the public is so ignorant.
2007-10-01 05:37:00 · answer #3 · answered by Magic Matt 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The rules concerning entry by the police and other authorities into a private property may very well have changed.
I'm from that generation born during World War two when an Englishman's home was his castle. To gain entry the police had to get a warrant issued by a magistrate.
The above may no longer be the case, because we're now living in a Police State with a Gestapo government which looks like remaining in power for the next five hundred years.
Already young folk of today do not know what real freedom means. It simply no longer exists in UK, everyone is afraid of everyone else and everyone blames everyone else for things they considr to have gone wrong, including the fuzz having the right to enter a property and even to kick the door down if they feel like it.
The National Police Records (Recordable Offences) (Amendment ...22. section 108(3) of the Licensing Act 2003 (offence of obstructing an authorised person exercising a right of entry where a temporary event notice has ...
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2005/20053106.htm
PDF] PRIVATE LANDLORDS’ FORUMFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
to those for council and housing association landlords. A property must: ... The Police will also have rights of entry where they have reasonable cause to ...
http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/pdf/12792.pdf
PI Responds to the UK Home Office on attempts to 'modernise ...Privacy International (PI) is a human rights group formed in 1990 as a watchdog on .... The expression that the UK police are subject to arbitrary and ...
http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B347%5D=x-347-553866
Public Order Branch | Paper on Protest Action and Personal SafetyThis is a section of the Metropolitan Police website dealing with Public Order. ... reminding them that it is private property. ...
http://www.met.police.uk/publicorder/protest_paper.htm
[PDF] Force Policy & Procedure Guideline Maritime Incidents ...File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
However, ships (including British registered vessels) are private property and the. police have no right of entry without the authority of the ship’s master ...
http://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/v3/pdfstore/CJU_D193.pdf
2007-10-01 05:45:27 · answer #4 · answered by Dragoner 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Many of the US laws are similar to that of the UK. Even within the responses here (ie "Roo") states our constitution requires a search warrant.
I'm here to say....not ALWAYS the case. There are "fresh/hot pursuit" issues that preclude the need for a warrant yet many don't understand what the police can or cannot do!
There are situations such as vehicle searches that fall under "Exigent Circumstances" that also allow for warrantless searches.
As for New Zealand law....
Arrest and Detention
"Police may arrest a suspect without a warrant if they have reasonable cause. Police also may request a warrant from a district court judge. Police may enter premises without a warrant to arrest a person if they reasonably suspect the person of committing a crime on the premises, or if they have found the person committing an offense and are in pursuit. Police must inform arrested persons immediately of their legal rights and the grounds for their arrest." (**)
My suggestion to those who think otherwise is research not just the US Constitution but the amendments and case law!
2007-10-01 05:33:39 · answer #5 · answered by KC V ™ 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Question for Roo.....
Would you still think it's against your Human rights if an officer went to the property of someone who just burgled or assaulted you, then said "give me a few hours to get a warrant and i'll come back?" Nah.... Didn't think so. You are obviously anti-police when it suits you, but when something minor happens, I bet you are the first one calling them. The Police are right to have the power to enter people's homes without a warrant.
2007-10-02 03:42:39 · answer #6 · answered by Alfie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That applies to the U.S. as well, a fresh pursuit (if they are chasing someone) or entry on exigent circumstances (someone's life is in danger). Search warrants are only one of many options law enforcement has in entering a property. Many Americans believe they are much more knowledgeable than they really are, and love to loudly voice their incorrect notions.
2007-10-01 05:27:08 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They can enter without a warrant, but risk being sued for damages, so they must have a damn good reason. Gas officials can also enter your property without a warrant, amongst others.
2007-10-01 11:30:37 · answer #8 · answered by flint 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I can tell you that my mate (being a police officer) has woke magistrates up at 3 in the morning to sign warrants.
I can also tell you a personal case when I called the police after hearing stories from neighbours that they seen a group of guys force their way into someones house and heard them screaming as they beat him up. We called the police they came took statements said they can't enter the property without a warrant and drove away. I kicked the door in found him in a pool of his own blood and called an ambulance.
Draw your own conclusions.
2007-10-01 05:24:38 · answer #9 · answered by Wayne Kerr 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Because my dear some people are just STUPID and believe everything they watch on TV (fictional) and everything their mates tell them.
The police can enter on many occasions without warrant. You have listed some. There are others which are listed on the link below.
http://www.yourrights.org.uk/your-rights/chapters/the-rights-of-suspects/police-powers-to-search-premises/entry_and_search_without_a_sea.shtml
Well done smarty pants!!
2007-10-01 10:44:09 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
just cause covers a multitude of sins,easy way out of this question is to steer clear of the bad guys,live a crime free life therefore avoiding the well known 4am knock,i think everyone is aware that some actions portrayed on tv are just for tv,think its called artistic licence
2007-10-01 21:02:34 · answer #11 · answered by the devil wears camo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋