The rights of people whose premises are subject to searches by officials other than the police have been strengthened following research carried out by Professor Richard Stone from the Lincoln Law School.
‘Powers of entry’, or the right to legally enter a premises, are held by many central and local government departments as well as companies running national utilities such as gas, electricity and water. Professor Stone, who is the only UK academic currently focusing on this specific area, aimed to identify and analyse these powers, and to provide a comprehensive survey of them. Currently, there are approximately 1,400 separate powers of entry contained under primary and secondary legislation. His research revealed the lack of a coherent policy in relation to these powers. They are enacted in different ways, with differences in when they may be available and how they may be exercised.
The result is that individuals who are subject to these powers and whose premises may be entered have great difficulty in discovering whether the official claiming to exercise the power is acting lawfully or not. A member of the House of Lords came across Professor Stone’s book, The Law of Entry, Search, and Seizure, and contacted him to provide guidance on the drafting of a private member’s bill. The Coalition Government picked up this reform in the Bill that eventually became the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
Research is continuing and the result will be a much clearer legal framework governing the powers of entry of nonpolice officials and a code of practice applicable to all such powers.
[announcement_box button_label=”Back to Case Studies” button_url=”http://lawresearch.dev.lincoln.ac.uk/case-studies” button_size=”medium” button_color=”#3156a3″ button_custom_color=”#747272″ button_hover_color=”#3156a3″ button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_hover_text_color=”#FFFFFF” top_margin=”page_margin_top” el_position=”last”] [/announcement_box]
