Police Powers of Entry Explained

The right to respect for one's home is protected under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, incorporated into domestic law by the Human Rights Act 1998. Police may only enter private premises lawfully if they have either the consent of the occupier or a specific statutory power. Entry without consent or lawful authority constitutes trespass and any evidence obtained may be excluded at trial.

The primary statutory powers of entry and search of premises are found in sections 17, 18, and 32 of PACE 1984. Section 17 allows a constable to enter and search premises without a warrant in defined circumstances: to execute an arrest warrant; to arrest a person for an indictable offence; to arrest for certain other offences including those under sections 6 to 8 and 10 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 and section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986; to recapture a person who has escaped from lawful custody; to save life or limb; or to prevent serious damage to property. Section 17 does not authorise entry to search for evidence.

Section 18 allows a constable to enter and search premises occupied or controlled by a person who has been arrested for an indictable offence, where the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect there is evidence on the premises relating to that offence or a connected indictable offence. This power must ordinarily be authorised by an inspector or above, though the constable may exercise it before obtaining that authority if the officer's presence at a place other than the police station is necessary for the effective investigation of the offence. Section 32 allows a constable to enter and search premises where the arrested person was at the time of arrest or immediately before arrest, again for evidence relating to the offence.

Beyond PACE, numerous other statutes confer entry powers. Section 135 of the Mental Health Act 1983 allows a magistrate to issue a warrant authorising a constable to enter premises to remove a person believed to be mentally disordered. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Firearms Act 1968, and Terrorism Act 2000 all contain their own entry and search powers. Occupiers who are refused entry should ask the officer to identify the specific power being relied upon and, where a warrant is produced, should check that it covers the premises in question.