Can police seize and keep my property in England and Wales?

Police have statutory powers to seize property in defined circumstances, but those powers are not unlimited and are subject to procedural safeguards designed to protect your interests.

Section 19 of PACE 1984 is the primary power of seizure. A constable who is lawfully on premises may seize anything that they have reasonable grounds to believe is evidence of an offence or has been obtained in consequence of an offence, and where they believe seizure is necessary to prevent it being concealed, lost, altered, or destroyed. The officer does not need a warrant specifically to seize: the general power attaches to any lawful presence on the premises.

When property is seized, you must be given a receipt. The receipt should describe the items taken. If the person whose property is seized is not present, a notice should be left at the premises.

Property can be retained for as long as it is needed for the purposes of a criminal investigation or proceedings. However, property cannot be kept indefinitely: once it is no longer required, it should be returned. If you believe property is being retained longer than necessary, you can apply to the magistrates court for its return under section 1 of the Police (Property) Act 1897.

There are specific protections for legally privileged material (correspondence with a solicitor), excluded material (personal records or journalistic material), and special procedure material. These cannot generally be seized under the general seizure power and require a court order.

Property found on an arrested person is also routinely seized and itemised on the custody record. It should be returned when the person is released unless it is being retained as evidence.

Key Points

• Police can seize property under section 19 of PACE if they have reasonable grounds to believe it is evidence or obtained through crime
• You must be given a receipt for any property seized
• Property must be returned once it is no longer needed for an investigation or proceedings
• You can apply to the magistrates court for the return of property under the Police (Property) Act 1897
• Legally privileged material cannot be seized under the general power
• Property taken from you on arrest is itemised on your custody record and should be returned when you are released
• Seizure from premises requires the officer to be lawfully on the premises