Section 8 Search Warrant

Officers carrying out the search should be familiar with executing search warrants and should be familiar with the relevant legal requirements.

Section 8 search warrant. 8 power of justice of the peace to authorise entry and search of premises. In particular they should know and understand section 16 of pace and paragraphs 6 7 and 8 of pace code b which provides general considerations and rights of seizure and retention of material. A magistrates court cannot authorise a search for excluded.

Rather a prerequisite for a valid computer search is explicit judicial authorization involving due consideration of the distinctive privacy concerns raised by such a search. E w 1 if on an application made by a constable a justice of the peace is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing a that f1 an indictable offence has been committed. A warrant to search a place does not by itself carry with it sufficient authority under section 8 charter principles to further search a computer found within that place.

And b that there is material on premises f2 mentioned in subsection 1a below which is likely to be of substantial value. Most search warrants authorise the investigator to seize and retain relevant material found during the search. Some like the general power under section 8 of the police and criminal evidence act 1984 are used to look for evidence of a criminal offence.

There is a different form of application for the court to issue a search warrant under another power to which sections 15 16 of pace apply. Typically this protects personal information that can be obtained through searching someone in pat down.