SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 3Border security

PART 1Powers

8Searches

1

An examining officer who questions a person under paragraph 1 may—

a

search the person;

b

search anything on a ship or aircraft that the person has with them or which belongs to them;

c

search anything which the person has with them or which belongs to them and which the officer reasonably believes has been, or is about to be, on a ship or aircraft;

d

search a ship or aircraft for anything falling within paragraph (b);

e

search a vehicle which is on a ship or aircraft;

f

search a vehicle which the officer reasonably believes has been, or is about to be, on a ship or aircraft.

2

Where an examining officer questions a person in the border area under paragraph 1 the officer may (in addition to the matters specified in sub-paragraph (1))—

a

search a vehicle;

b

search anything in or on a vehicle;

c

search anything which the officer reasonably believes has been, or is about to be, in or on a vehicle.

3

The powers conferred by sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) are exercisable only for the purposes of determining whether a person is or has been engaged in hostile activity.

4

A search of a person under this paragraph—

a

must be carried out by somebody of the same sex;

b

does not extend to the carrying out of an intimate search.

5

A strip search of a person may not be carried out under this paragraph unless—

a

the person is detained under paragraph 4,

b

the examining officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is concealing something which may be evidence that the person is or has been engaged in hostile activity, and

c

the search is authorised by a senior officer who has not been directly involved in the questioning of the person.

6

“Senior officer” means—

a

where the examining officer is a constable, a constable of a higher rank than the examining officer,

b

where the examining officer is an immigration officer, an immigration officer of a higher grade than the examining officer, and

c

where the examining officer is a customs officer, a customs officer of a higher grade than the examining officer.

7

In this paragraph—

  • “intimate search” means a search which consists of a physical examination of a person’s body orifices other than the mouth;

  • “strip search” means a search which is not an intimate search but involves the removal of an article of clothing which—

    1. a

      is being worn wholly or partly on the trunk, and

    2. b

      is being so worn either next to the skin or next to an article of underwear.