Wednesday 3 December 2008

Plod Bashing

Code B Codes of Practice - Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

5.1

If it is proposed to search premises with the consent of a person entitled to grant entry the consent must, if practicable, be given in writing on the Notice of Powers and rights before the search. The officer must make any necessary enquiries to be satisfied the person is in a position to give such consent.

5.2

Before seeking consent the officer in charge of the search shall state the purpose of the proposed search and its extent. This information must be as specific as possible, particularly regarding the articles or persons being sought and the parts of the premises to be searched. The person concerned must be clearly informed they are not obliged to consent and anything seized may be produced in evidence. If at the the time the person is not suspected of an offence, the officer shall say this when stating the purpose of the search.

I find it very hard to believe that the police officers attending the Palace of Westminster did not comply with the above. The Sergeant at Arms is in charge of security and is said to have signed the consent. If I was in charge of this search I would have read from a pre-prepared script to ensure I was covered. So poor old plod is blamed again. Will the yard put their side? and possibly embarrass the sergeant at arms.

Ladies and Gentlemen - that is politics.

Who started this investigation off again?

*Update 4/12 * Police state they did make it clear that the Sgt in Arms did NOT have to give consent. What say you now Mr Speaker ??

4 comments:

Area Trace No Search said...

To be fair, our acting Commish seems to be quite vocal in his defence; the cynical side of me suspects a last ditch attempt to get "grass roots" support from the troops.

Either way, it's nice to hear.

Personally I'd like Hugh Orde. Chances are slim though I think.

Stressed Out Cop said...

I'm a Hugh ORDE fan too - the choice of the troops - so that's him out.

Unknown said...

It's the politicians that are to blame for this fiasco. They've continuously lied and seek to blame everybody else accept themselves. The last time something like this happened was when Charles I tried to gain enter to parliament and he was refused. That's going back a few hundred years so you would think something like this wouldn't happen in this day and age.

Area Trace No Search said...

Well said - if he's got the troops support, we've got no hope of getting him.

Also, with his recent experience his idea of community policing might be slightly different to the people inside the M25. Glocks, MP5s and armoured landrovers...