POLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 2000 - SECT 418
Right to communicate with friend, relative or lawyer
POLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 2000 - SECT 418
Right to communicate with friend, relative or lawyer
418 Right to communicate with friend, relative or lawyer
(1) Before a police
officer starts to question a relevant person for an indictable offence, the
police officer must inform the person he or she may—
(a) telephone or speak
to a friend or relative to inform the person of his or her whereabouts and ask
the person to be present during questioning; and
(b) telephone or speak to a
lawyer of the person’s choice and arrange, or attempt to arrange, for the
lawyer to be present during the questioning.
(2) The police officer must
delay the questioning for a reasonable time to allow the person to telephone
or speak to a person mentioned in subsection (1) .
(3) If the person arranges
for someone to be present, the police officer must delay the questioning for a
reasonable time to allow the other person to arrive.
(4) What is a reasonable
time to delay questioning to allow a friend, relative or lawyer to arrive at
the place of questioning will depend on the particular circumstances,
including, for example—
(a) how far the person has to travel to the place;
and
(b) when the person indicated he or she would arrive at the place.
(5)
What is a reasonable time to delay questioning to allow the relevant person to
speak to a friend, relative or lawyer will depend on the particular
circumstances, including, for example, the number and complexity of the
matters under investigation.
(6) Unless special circumstances exist, a delay
of more than 2 hours may be unreasonable.
