Certain Functions Conferred on Police Under the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 Personal Searches Crimes Scenes Notices to Produce - Issues paper June 2007

Summary

The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (LEPRA) commenced on 1 December 2005. To date, it represents the most extensive codification and consolidation of the criminal law enforcement powers most commonly used by police in New South Wales (NSW). Section 242 of LEPRA requires the Ombudsman to keep under scrutiny the exercise of the following functions conferred on police officers:

• personal searches on arrest or while in custody
• notices to deposit-taking institutions to produce documents, and
• the establishment of crime scenes.

The Ombudsman's review includes consideration of the safeguards in Part 15 of LEPRA as they apply to personal searches and the establishment of crime scenes. This issues paper provides some background to LEPRA, an explanation of the legislative provisions that are subject to review, and some initial statistical information about the operation of the legislation during the first 12 months. The paper outlines a number of issues which have been brought to our attention during the review. The purpose of the issues paper is to seek submissions from interested people and organisations for the purposes of our final report.

• Paper PDF, 1.2MB
• Appendices PDF, 1004.8KB